Nepal Prez extends deadline for forming national unity govt

As Nepal`s warring political parties failed to form a national unity government, the President gave five more days to them to strike a deal.

Kathmandu: As Nepal`s warring political parties failed to form a national unity government, the President today gave five more days to them to strike a deal, the fifth such extension to the original November 29 deadline. The deadline for political parties to recommend the name of a consensus prime ministerial candidate and forming the national unity government expired yesterday as they failed to reach a deal after days of hectic meetings.

President Ram Baran Yadav today extended the deadline by another five days for squabbling political parties to form the national consensus government. The President once again gave the extension after the top leaders of the major parties, who met the President at Rastrapati Bhawan today asked him to do so. This was the fifth extension of the deadline issued by the President to form the national consensus government. Nepal plunged into political and constitutional crisis after Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai dissolved the Constituent Assembly without promulgating the Constitution in May. The political crisis further deepened after the elections announced by the Prime Minister could not be conducted on the stipulated date of November 22. The three major parties, UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, had earlier agreed on a package deal that would require the Prime Minister to step down for paving the way to form a consensus government headed by Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala and announcing a date for election around April-May, Nepali Congress general secretary Prakash Man Singh said. However, the talks failed after the Prime Minister declined to step down, he added. The talks were attended by Maoist chief Prachanda, Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal and leader of Joint Madhesi Front Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar. PTI