Parliament failed to elect a prime minister once again and set a new date for a third election on 2 August.
CA chair Subash Nembang announced the results of voting at 8 pm but a non-outcome was expected as the Madhesi alliance and the UML had decided to abstain from voting. Without their participation, it was impossible for either of the candidates, Pushpa Kamal Dahal of UCPN (Maoist) or Ram Chandra Poudel of NC, to secure the required majority. The UML decided to abstain from the election as it failed to garner a two-third majority for the party chairman Jhalanath Khanal for Wednesday’s election. The required number for a simple majority is 301.
Maoist candidate Dahal received only 241 votes in his favour while 113 members voted against him and 221 abstained. NC candidate Ram Chandra Poudel received 123 votes in his favour. 241 lawmakers voted against him and 214 abstained. There were 572 members present in the house today.
As the top leaders engaged in negotiating deals with Madehsi and other fringe party leaders, CA members were seen chatting with each other on the lawn outside parliament all day long. The house session was delayed by seven hours.
About 200 journalists from the national and international media were seen waiting for the session to begin. Television and radio crews reached the premises at noon to organise their live broadcasts.
There will be another election on Monday between the Maoist and NC candidates, Dahal and Poudel.
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I am not unhappy. We need to have a national unity government otherwise the present government should continue.
Once again the Maoists are exposed. They had campaigned whole year demanding a national unity government to steer the country to constitution making and pave for democratic progressive developmental shift and until their demand fulfilled did not allow the CA, government to function at all. They wanted MKN to resign and they promised that they would form a national unity government. Many people did not believe that the hidden agendas was different but now it is very clear that their sole purpose was to capture power, integrate their thugs into army and force a rigged election. This is what they are after.
Otherwise, they should accept three point conditions put forward by UML and NC. If they are so much worried about constitution making, and believe that without their leadership, Nepal would not and should not move forward an inch, they should immediately agree to NC and UML three point conditions.
But they are not. They have only one agenda: capture power by hook or crook and then mis-use it.
There are lots of lessons to be learned from the election that failed to elect a PM.
Those who have or claim to have hands in the making of the interim Constitution should come out in open and tell us why they did not think of such an stalemate situation. Those so called makers and writers of the interim Constitution are still lurking around claiming their names to fame and holding some posts in the government. Why make the country suffer so much?
Lesson 1: Please do not inovlve those hands anymore in the Constitution making anymore. They should be ashamed of what they have done to the country. Post their names, expose them so that the next group would not do the same to us. We never seem to learn a lesson from the history and not even from the immediate past.
This game of Madhese parties united by being NEUTRAL is tantamount to holding the country to a ransom which is simply deplorable. They should be united to give people a relief from the widespread corruption and incompetent government. They should be united to eradicate the poverty and illitaracy. They should be united to stay away from petty politics, self interest and bickerings. They should be united to give more power to the making of federal system in the new constitution. If they are united to preserve the rights of the Madhesi people only, what if the same thing happens with other groups. Will they prefer the situation of “Narahe baans, nabaje bansaaree”? Granted, just like any other groups, the grievances of the Madhesi parties should be addressed. But just because they have the number and they can hold the government to a ransom for their demands does not seem right. There are many ethnic groups who have suffered as much under the hegemonism of rule perpetrated by Bahun Chetri and Newar. Similarly, we should see that a certain castes only does not benefit again in the name of the Madhesi people’s rights.
What is this damn neutralim when we all know that such thing does not exist among the parties? If this is the stance of neutralism they are taking, I CHALLENGE the Madhesi parties to stick to their demands and remain NEUTRAL by not participating in the next government that is formed. Can they do that by setting asie personal greed of a ministerial post? I doubt it but it remains to be seen.
Lesson 2: Address properly the demands of the Madhesi groups and in doing so, make sure that it is not the leaders who benefit from it, the benefits must be for the people.
Lesson 3: Address the provision of continuous “neutralism” by a group parties. What are their responsibilties? Does remaining NEUTRAL or voting en mas at the whip of your party not pick your inner conscience if you have any?
Lesson 4: In the new constitution, address the salaries and allowances of a member of parliament. If she or he does not attend it, the salary and allowance must be stopped for any absences, whether you are unable, sick or otherwise. People voted you to represent and if you have no time to do that job, then at least we can punish you temporarily is by not giving you your pay and allowances.
Lesson: Keep a provision of a serious punishment (barring in any future political or public post) if anyone is found indulging in a horsetrading in parliament. I know it is hard to prove it but a provision should be there. Even if there is a prima facie, a member should be suspended with a court order so that such horsetrading is discouraged.
I can go on and on but I think you got the idea.
Who is going to botanise over the mother’s grave?
Who is going to preside over the dissolution of the country to come to power? Prachanda or Ram Chandra? Are they going to accept the blackmailing demand, tactic of the Madhes- badi parties, for the sake of the chair?
Form National Government of all parties and accept rotational Premiership till next election so that we can sleep peacefully for the time being.
Shameful, absolutely shameful! Only in our “banana republic” can the politicians go on like this. Missing deadlines, delivereing nothing. Run-off after run-off without any result. And a media that keeps reporting the same old crap, day after day, week after week, year after year. Waiting with bated breath for the new PM — as if that’s going to change anything! Sack all these Bahun politicians and their Bahun yes-men in media, I say. That’s the way forward for Nepal!
Non-Partisan P.M. and National Government.
Let us have one distinguished sarbamanya ,acceptable to all parties,non-partisan person of repute for Premiership; and a National Crisis Government formed for solving the present impasse. It will be more beneficial to the nation than accepting the political blackmail advocated by the Madhesi parties. Appeasement and blackmail should be out of bounds to clean Nepali politics. Witches cauldrons are always boiling there.