Poll changes in Nepal

A top parliamentary panel in Nepal on Tuesday approved key changes in the rules for electing a Prime Minister that would make it mandatory to vote for a leader in the House poll, amid a deadlock that has left the country without a government for nearly seven months.

A five-member parliamentary committee headed by Ek Raj Bhandari recommended making it mandatory to vote in a multi-cornered prime ministerial poll.

Lawmakers will not be allowed to abstain, attendance will be mandatory, and the Speaker will be able to disqualify candidates after three failed rounds of voting.

It has proposed termination of the election process if the House fails to elect a Prime Minister in the third round.