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Nepal parliament fails to elect prime minister for 8th time in a row

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, Sept 26, IRNA -- Nepal's parliament Sunday failed to elect a new prime minister for the eighth time in a row as R C Poudyal of Nepali Congress was unable to garner majority support even after withdrawal of Maoist chairman Prachanda from the race.

65-year-old Poudyal, the sole candidate for the post of prime minister, secured 116 votes in favour which was 184 votes short of a majority. Two votes were cast against him while 71 lawmakers remained neutral.

Unified CPN (Maoist) and CPN-UML lawmakers did not participate in the voting process. Till the seventh round of elections, CPN-UML had participated in the voting process and stayed neutral.

The next round of poll will take place on September 30, according to the parliament secretariat.

Ahead of the voting in the 601-member Constituent Assembly, the House officially approved the withdrawal of Prachanda's candidacy.

Maoist vice president Baburam Bhattarai formally notified the House about the withdrawal of his party boss from the race.

CPN-Maoist, which ended its decade-long civil war in 2006, is the single largest party with 238 seats in the Assembly, while Nepali congress has 114 members in the House whose two-year term was extended by one year on 28th May.

Former prime minister Prachanda and CPN-UML president Jhala Nath Khanal reached a deal on 17th September that the Maoists would withdraw from the race and both the parties would not take part in the election on 26th September.

The major parties had failed to agree on a consensus candidate for the post of the prime minister, leading to the process of electing a new leader through majority vote in the Constituent Assembly.

Nepali Congress has ruled out the possibility of forming the next government under the Maoists’ leadership as the former rebels have not yet laid down arms, managed their combatants and dissolved the paramilitary organization of its youth wing, Young Communist League.

The Maoists led by Prachanda formed a government, but it later collapsed after a dispute with President Ram Baran Yadav over their attempt to replace the then army chief Rukmangad Katowal.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 291367