Nepal PM Koirala against unlimited power to PM

Kathmandu, Dec 30: Nepal's premier should not be given unlimited power as that could make him dictatorial, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said and called for a more equitable sharing of authority in the interim administration.

Koirala's comments, made late yesterday, came two weeks after the government and the Maoist rebels finalised the draft of an interim constitution which allows the prime minister to exercise powers of the head of state earlier enjoyed by King Gyanendra.

''If all powers are given to the prime minister he can turn into a dictator. That is not good,'' Koirala said in Nepali on state radio. ''There should be a balance of power between the executive, legislature and judiciary.'' The interim constitution also envisages a temporary parliament including the Maoists who are to join an interim government after confining their guerrillas to camps and surrendering arms to be monitored by the United Nations.

The new legislation will be in place until Nepal elects a special assembly next year, prepares a permanent constitution and decides the future of the monarchy.

Koirala reiterated that his centrist Nepali Congress party, the biggest in the ruling coalition, was in favour of a ''ceremonial'' role for the king.

But the fate of the monarchy should be decided by the constituent assembly, he added.

The first group of UN arms monitors is in Nepal to manage the weapons of the Maoist guerrillas and the state army as part of a peace deal between the two sides. But a full monitoring mission will take some time to be in place.

Reuters