Nepal's Parliament failed to elect Prime Minister for the seventh time on Tuesday. Both candidates, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda' and Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel, were unable to obtain a simple majority in the house of 601.
Mr. Prachanda got 252 votes in his favour. While 110 MPs voted against him, 159 remained neutral with 521 MPs registering their presence. Mr. Poudel polled 119 votes while 245 MPs opposed his candidature and 151 stayed neutral; 515 lawmakers attended the proceedings.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and two constituents of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) — Tarai Madhes Democratic Party and Sadbhavana — were present but remained neutral. Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum led by Upendra Yadav, which had broken ranks with the broader Madhesi front on Sunday, boycotted the vote. MJF (Democratic) remained absent during the voting procedure.
