Election for PM 21 July; other details

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 13 July: Election for successor of caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal who resigned under Maoist pressure will be held 21 July, a parliamentary announcement said Tuesday.
Voting in the 601-member legislature/ constituent assembly (CA) will begin 11 in the morning [05.15 GMT]; parliamentary General Secretary Mohan Prasad Bhattarai has been appointed election officer.
Candidates will file their nominations from 10 in the morning 20 July to five in the afternoon.
Parliaments business affairs recommended the dates.
Maoists are the largest party in parliament/CA but they don’t have a majority.
Prime Minister Nepal said before resigning he was stepping even as the 22-party coalition enjoyed a majority.
Main opposition Maoists were pushing a national unity consensus government but didn’t get the support of three other biggest parties—NC, UML and MJFL even in 12 days deadline given by the president which expired Monday.
Both the NC and UML have staked claims to the leadership of the new government; a coalition of NC,UML amd MJFL supported by smaller parties should assemble a majority government.
Maoists can’t form a government without the support of three other big parties; their chances of forming a majority government are slim.
Meanwhile, 22 small parties Tuesday blamed the three biggest for failure to form a consensus government calling them ‘irresponsible’ while expressing regret such a government couldn’t be formed.
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