Nepal Highlights

The main opposition, Nepali Congress, is gradually giving up the position of a Westminsterial system inching closer to the Maoist position of a directly elected executive to ensure political stability in the country. Nepali Congress central executive committee is meeting at the party headquarters in Sanepa since Wednesday to determine the party’s position on the form of governance in the new constitution. Among the 17 central committee members who expressed their views on Wednesday, most of them spoke for an improved parliamentary system with a directly elected Prime Minister. Earlier, the party had been taking the position of a parliamentary Prime Ministerial system with prime ministerial elected and accountable to the parliament. Young generation leaders like Narahari Acharya and Gagan Thapa have been lobbying for reformed parliamentary system. The outcome of the ongoing central committee meeting of Nepali Congress is critical to determine the form of governance in the new constitu...

Veteran Nepali Congress leader and two-time Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai passed away at the age of 87 on (day). He breathed his last at the Norvic Hospital, Thapatali, at 11.26 pm while undergoing treatment.

A Standing Committee meeting of the Unified CPN (Maoist) Thursday morning called to pick ministers to represent the party in the Jhala Nath Khanal cabinet failed to pick the ministers and has been postponed for later today. The meeting was postponed without finalizing the list of ministers as chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was scheduled to leave for Gulmi to inaugurate a function there.

Cabinet expansion, stalled for almost a month due to tug-of-war between coalition partners UML and UCPN (Maoist) for home ministry, is likely to take place today after UCPN (Maoist) agreed to join the government on condition of getting home ministry after one month. 

President Ram Baran Yadav's press advisor Rajendra Dahal has ruled out the possibility of a presidential rule in Nepal, Wednesday. Addressing an interaction titled 'Posibble Political Crisi, Solution and Media' organised by Tribhuvan Nagar Jaycees in Ghorahi of Dang Dahal said, presidential rule will not be imposed as the president does not have executive authority as per the interim constitution. Saying  the present crisis was a result of the conflict among the parties, Dahal said, there was no option to a consensus among the parties. He also accused the three largest parties in the parliament of making the parliament and the country a prisoner of their feuds.

A non-governmental bill for the extension of the Constituent Assembly (CA) term has been tabled at the CA secretariat, Sunday.  UML lawmaker Dheerendra Bahadur Shrestha tabled the bill to amend article 64 of the interim constitution in consent with his fellow colleagues in the parliamentary board. Article 64 of the interim constitution has the provisions about the tenure of the CA. 

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has started consultation with leaders of various political parties to extend the term of Constituent Assembly (CA). PM Nepal met leaders of fringe parties Tuesday and sought their opinion the CA's term. The government is preparing to extend the CA's term as it is certain by now that a new constitution cannot be promulgated by May 28, when the term of the CA ends. However, it has not determined whether to extend the CA's term by one year or six months. The government has initiated process to extend the CA term by amending the constitution. However, its efforts will be futile without support of the Maoists as a two-thirds majority-mandatory for amending the constitution-is not possible without the Maoists. The Maoists have said, they will not let the CA term extend without the present government stepping down.

On going political crisis in Nepal is continuous in Nepal with the conflicting parties firm on their stances. On Thursday, too, leaders of various political parties engaged in bilateral and tri-lateral talks to no avail. The day started with Unified CPN (Maoist)'s office bearer's meeting. The meeting held at Maoist chairman Prachanda's residence in Naya Bazaar decided not to let the House run only to pass the budget. The decision came in response to ruling parties' request to allow the House run to pass the budget. Instead, the Maoists concluded that a single agreement should address all related problems.

United Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) chief Karen Landgren has asked Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to clarify the government's position on UNMIN, reports say. Landgren met PM Nepal at the latters' residence in Baluwatar, Thursday morning and asked his to clarify Nepal government's view on UNMIN's performance.

Tribhuvan University called representatives of student unions who submitted memorandum against fee hike for talks, Thursday.

CPN (UML) standing committee member and in charge of international department Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli has gone to New Delhi, India Thursday to participate in the International Communist Party organised by the Indian Marxist party. In addition to participating in the three-day conference Oli is also expected to meet Indian leaders during his visit.

Chairman of the UCPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, called on Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala at a hospital in Singapore, Tuesday afternoon. Prachanda had suddenly left Kathmandu for Singapore, where NC president Koirala is undergoing treatment.

About a dozen student unions affiliated to various political parties have submitted a joint memorandum to Vice Chancellor of Tribhunvan University Madhav Raj Sharma Tuesday afternoon demanding the withdrawal of recent decision to hike tuition fees by up to ten times.

Two largest parties in Nepal's ruling coalition have decided to use any means to pass the budget even if it means having to use marshall at the parliament. The ruling alliance braced on passing the budget by force if need be as the lack of budget passage has put the government in a dire financial situation. It has not been able to pay its staff due to this.

United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) chief Karen Landgren has met with Nepali Congress vice president and leader of parliamentary board Ram Chandra Poudel, Tuesday morning.

Girja Prasad Koirala is the oldest and most influential leader in Nepali politics. He is 84 years old, but still actively involved in most of the important decision making processes. Currently, he is the president of Nepali Congress. He has become Prime Minister six times, the highest in the history of Nepal. He has also become the president of Nepali Congress for almost two decades now.

Unified CPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has hinted his party could ease obstruction in the legislature parliament to let the budget for this fiscal year pass.

A senior leader of the ruling CPN (UML) has claimed that grave conspiracies were being hatched to dissolve the Constituent Assembly and impose a presidential rule. UML vice chairman Ashok Rai said, some Nepali Congress leaders had approached his party leadership with a proposal to dissolve the CA, impose a presidential rule and promulgate a new constitution by forming a Constitutional Commission.

Nepal’s permanent envoy to the United Nations Madhu Raman Acharya has conveyed to the UN Security Council (UNSC) the position of 22 political parties backing the government on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s report to the UNSC on the progress in Nepal’s peace process.

At a time when the United Nations and the Nepalese government are expressing mutually contradictory opinions on whether UN Secretary General’s suggestion is an interference in Nepal’s internal affairs, a Maoist leader has said, UN’s criticism in Nepal is fuelled by Indian interest.