The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) is getting around to accepting the Nepali Congress’ leadership of the next government expecting the latter to recognise its strength on equal footing and share power accordingly.
The CPN (UML) leaders are of the view that while the NC should get the first call on making their choice known, it should be willing to recognise the CPN (UML) position. They said that one of the two top posts — the power-wielding Prime Minister and the ceremonial President — should be split between the two largest parties as per the results of the second Constituent Assembly election.
‘Embrace leader from CPN (UML)’
Shankar Pokharel, CPN(UML) secretary, said the popular mandate dictated that the NC gets to hold executive power, but it should be willing to accept a CPN (UML) leader as the next president of Nepal. President Ram Baran Yadav, an NC nominee, got elected in the House after the election to the first Constituent Assembly in 2008.
The NC, at least in public, seems reluctant to do so. It is citing a provision in the Interim Constitution which says the term of the President would be “until the commencement of the Constitution to be promulgated.”Ram Sharan Mahat from the NC said that President Yadav would stay until the Constitution was drafted. Asked whether his party would insist on retaining Mr. Yadav even at the cost of ruling out power-sharing and Constitution-drafting partnership with the UML, he said “We are not discussing the President’s term.”
