Fourth round of Nepal prime ministerial election today

Kathmandu, Aug 6 (ANI): Nepal Parliament will conduct a fourth runoff election for the post of prime minister today.

The previous three elections held on July 21, July 23 and August 2 had failed to elect a prime minister.

Unified CPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda and Nepali Congress vice president Ram Chandra Paudel were in the fray for the post of prime minister.

It is feared that, the fourth round of election is likely to turn out to be yet another damp squib as a meeting of the 18 political parties represented in the Constituent Assembly on Thursday made a call to the UCPN (Maoist) and the Nepali Congress to open the door for consensus.

During the meeting, UML leaders have stressed that there is no alternative to consensus to ensure peace and timely Constitution and that Nepali Congress and the UCPN (Maoist) must show readiness for consensus as they had failed even to secure simple majority.

The UML leaders are also known to have suggested to the parties not to support any of the prime ministerial candidates just to install a majority government.

In the third run off, Prachanda secured 259 votes, while Paudel got 124, in the 599-member parliament.

In Prachanda's case, of a total 581 attendances, 114 lawmakers voted against and another 208 opted to stay neutral. Likewise, 246 lawmakers disapproved Paudel's candidacy, while another 186 abstained from voting.

The fate of both candidates depends on the decision of the UML and the four Madhes-based parties.

Prachanda will get a majority if the Madhes parties vote for him, while Poudel will get a chance to lead a government if the UML and the Madhes parties vote for him.

According to existing parliamentary regulations the election for the post of Prime Minister at the legislature parliament keeps on repeating until a prime minister is elected, Nepalnews reported. (ANI)