Talking to media persons, Paudel argued that the recent verdict of the apex court has pointed out that the use of Clause 7 of the Parliamentary Regulations was erroneous. “The Supreme Court verdict for the Speaker to rethink the provision in Clause 7 would mean going for Sub-clause 5 of the same clause,” he said. [break]
As per Sub-clause 5 of Clause 7, the speaker is required to declare the candidate in the prime ministerial race elected unopposed provided he is alone in the fray. “The speaker now has to think about this,” he said.
There have already been 16 futile rounds of prime ministerial election in parliament. NC parliamentary party leader Paudel is the lone prime ministerial candidate in the fray following withdrawal of candidacy by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal after the eighth round of voting.
The 17th round of prime ministerial vote is scheduled for November 15. There is, however, no possibility of electing lone candidate Paudel as prime minister as the CPN-UML, the Maoists and Madhesi parties have shown no sign of changing their neutral stance in the voting.
Paudel held a meeting Saturday morning with lawyers close to the NC. The lawyers had argued that Paudel should be declared prime minister in line with the verdict of the apex court. “The Speaker should bring about a conclusion in line with the court´s verdict,” he said, adding: “We will hold a meeting with the Speaker about this soon.”
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