Looking for a Prime Minister: Seventh Failed Attempt

For the record: Even the seventh round of the prime ministerial election in the House today failed to elect a chief executive, thanks to the CPN-UML‘s and Madhes-based parties’ neutral stance. Now, the country will have to wait for nearly three weeks to see another round of the drama of the prime ministerial election. The eighth round poll in the House has been scheduled for September 26.

Yet, it is not sure that the eighth round of election also can elect a new prime minister as the parties are sticking to their old respective positions. The election has been postponed by three weeks due to the General Convention of the Nepali Congress (NC), a contestant in the PM election.

In Tuesday’s seventh round of election, UCPN (Maoist) Candidate Pushpa Kamal Dahal and NC candidate Ram Chandra Poudel both failed to garner a majority vote.

Among the 521 lawmakers present during the voting, 252 voted for Dahal, and 110 voted against while 159 remained neutral in the proposal to elect Dahal as the new prime minister. Likewise, 119 votes were cast in favour of Poudel, and 245 votes against, while 151 remained neutral.

The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF), which had dissociated itself from the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) in Sunday’s poll, stayed neutral. The election has become a matter of shame for the political leaders and they did their best to dodge the media persons after the election. Maoist Chairman Dahal and Vice Chairman Babu Ram Bhattarai refused to speak with reporters after the election.

While talking to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal inside the Constituent Assembly building Dahal said that he feels no more shame because of repeated elections. “The shame has vanished now because of the repeated defeat,” Prime Minister Nepal quoted Chairman Dahal as saying.

Even after the series of failures, the parties seem unwilling to abandon the election process and go for a fresh course. NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba said there are no possibilities of a rethink. CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal urged both candidates to withdraw and go for a fresh course.

Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (MJF-L) played truant, remaining busy in its Parliamentary Party Meeting in Singha Durbar when the prime ministerial election was underway at the CA building. “After a long time, we got a chance to air our views in the meeting, and so the meeting went on till evening,” said Chief Whip of MJF-L Ram Janam Chaudhary adding that after a long discussion MJF-L decided that that it would break the ice in the coming election. Yet, Chaudhary said that they haven’t decided whom to vote for.

There are reports that the reason behind the MJF-L meeting at the time of PM election was undergoing was Chairman Bijay Kumar Gachhadar tactics to avoid the possible floor cross from its party. However, Chaudhary refuted the reports claiming it “baseless”.

Likewise, a tired and frustrated MJF Chair Upendra Yadav said that the parties should again hold discussions and find a new way in upcoming election. “It’s very hard to say what will happen. Is there anything that I said come true?” questioned Yadav adding that despite his huge exercise the country couldn’t pave a new way.

Maoist to forward a new alternative

The UCPN (Maoist) on Tuesday said that it would pull out from the electoral process and will not participate in the eighth round of election in the house. “The Maoist will not participate in the eighth round of the election but forward a new alternative to end the deadlock,” Maoist Secretary C.P. Gajurel told the Post.

According to him, there has been tentative understanding among the top leadership about not repeating the election in the house but to go for a new alternative. However, according to Gajurel, ongoing Central Committee meeting of the Maoists will take a final call about a new alternative that party will forward soon. “We will also discuss to other parties about opting a new alternative.

Earlier, this week Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had said that his party would take a unilateral decision to give a way out to the country, saying that the country should not kept in a deadlock situation for a long time. There is pressure upon the Maoist leadership not to engage on the dirty game of parliamentary system.