Sixth round polls on September 5

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: With Unified CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML sticking to their guns, the parliament today failed to elect new prime minister for the fifth time. The sixth round of polls will be held on September 5.

Neither Pushpa Kamal Dahal nor Ram Chandra Paudel could garner enough votes to become the next PM even in the fifth round. A candidate should poll at least 300 votes out of 599 to become the PM.

UCPN-M’s Prachanda garnered 246 votes out of 563 votes cast, with 111 NC members voting against him and 206 members belonging to CPN-UML, Madhes-based parties and other fringe parties staying neutral.

NC’s Paudel got 124 votes out of 567 cast votes, with 243 members, including UCPN-M’s 237, voting against him and 200 members belonging to CPN-UML, Madhes-based parties and other fringe parties sitting on the fence.

Parliament’s Business Advisory Committee debated for two hours before deciding the date for next round of polls. “NC wanted a gap of at least two weeks so that the parties could reach consensus. However, the UCPN-M proposed to hold next round of polls within a week,” NC’s chief whip Laxman Ghimire told THT.

PM Madhav Kumar Nepal said after the House meeting: “Either the parties should elect a new PM or let this caretaker government bring the fiscal budget at the earliest.” He said the UML was planning to float a novel proposal and initiate discussions among parties for consensus tomorrow.