Prez Yadav must go, avers UML

KATHMANDU, DEC 12 -
As part of a ‘power sharing deal endorsed by the party’s Central Committee on Wednesday, the CPN-UML has formally decided to have President Ram Baran Yadav replaced by its candidate.

A proposal tabled by party chairman Jhala Nath Khanal seeks “respectable power sharing” with the largest party, Nepali Congress (NC), which commands 196 seats in the new Constituent Assembly. The NC is followed by the UML with 175 seats, while with 80 seats in its kitty, the UCPN (Maoist) stands in the third position.

While the full text of the proposal is yet to be made public, UML leaders said they have proposed proportionally allocating  the top five positions—president, vice president, prime minister, speaker and chairman of the Constitutional Committee—to the three major parties. Leaders said Khanal’s paper proposes two seats each for the NC and the UML and one for the UCPN (Maoist), if it joins the government.

The NC, however, is still against the idea of replacing President Yadav, a former NC lawmaker, with a new face.

“The party has endorsed the new power sharing proposal as per the new strength of the political parties,” UML leader Prakash Jwala said.

The party has also asked the UCPN (Maoist) to accept the people’s verdict given through the November 19 election, while it urged and CPN-Maoist, which opposed the polls, to be part of the constitution writing process.

The CC meeting mandated the party’s Standing Committee to name 84 candidates for proportional representation seats in the CA from the total of 335 fielded under this category. The party has also asked the Standing Committee to prepare a month-long campaign to strengthen the party’s organisation, to invite like-minded people to the party and seek unity with smaller parties.

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