Nepal President urges parliament to form majority government

Kathmandu, May 11 (ANI): Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav on Sunday wrote a letter to the country's parliament to start the procedure for the formation of a majority government.

Any party or coalition will now have to show a majority in the House to form the government. Any party or coalition needs 301 seats in the 601-seat Constituent Assembly to form a majority government.

As per the Article 38 (2) of the Interim Constitution, if attempts to form a government of "national consensus" do not bear results, then a call should be made to form a majority government.

However, the Maoist obstruction of Parliament over the President Yadav's decision to re-instate Army chief General Rookmangud Katwal has made the possibility of government formation dim.

On Saturday, Maoist Politburo decided not to form a new government until President Yadav corrects his "unconstitutional move" by reversing his step to reinstate the army chief.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) have decided on a joint effort to form a UML-led coalition government.

The two parties will hold an all-party meeting on Tuesday in this regard.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, NC vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel said, "Since the UML has accepted NC's proposal to form new government under UML leadership, we have decided to hold consultations with other parties to reach an understanding." (ANI)