9TH ROUND VOTING FOR PM THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: Ninth round voting for prime minister to elect the successor of Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will be held in parliament Thursday 30 September.
The 8th round vote Sunday in which NC Vice-president Ram Chandra was the sole candidate couldn’t muster the required 301 majority vote.
Maoist Chairman Prachanda Sunday withdrew from the contest by withdrawing his candidacy.
Paudel collected only 116votes; altogether 102 lawmakers voted against him while 71 legislators stood neutral.
‘If Maoists abandon their politics of arms, I’m ready at any time to withdraw my candidacy,” said Paudel after the vote.
Nepal resigned more than two months ago under intense Maoist pressure and the country administered by a caretaker government that hasn’t been able to make important discussions like presenting the annual national budget in parliament which isn’t in session.
The budget session normally runs from June to the beginning of the festive season until the end of September.
For four months, the extended constituent assembly (CA) session hasn’t met to draft a proposed constitution to institutionalize a republic which has to be promulgated in another eight months.
Maoists and UML now favour mending parliamentary procedure to end the deadlock.
UML parliamentary party Sunday decided to amend parliamentary rules.
“We’ll push a proposal for an amendment. The rule must be amended now..’UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal said and called Maoist withdraw of Prachanda’s candidacy ‘positive’.
Before the vote Sunday, chief whips and leaders of parliamentary parties discussed ways of ending the extended deadlock and an amendment to house regulations at the legislature’s business advisory committee (BAC).

Congress and small parties questioned Maoists and UMl on a three-point accord between them to sty neutral in voting.
Maoists and UML asked the NC to pull out of the prime ministerial contest; Congress didn’t respond.
Congress is suspicious of he three-point deal between the two communist parties; The establishment of the UML led by Khanal is attempting to snap its ties with old coalition partner—UN.
Maoists and UML command a majority in parliament –making NC suspicious.
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PARAS VISITS KISHUNJI IN HOSPITAL

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: Former Crown Prince Paras Shah Sunday visited Former Prime Minister visited ailing Former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai at Norvic Hospital where he’s undergoing treatment.
Paras spent 10 minutes with Bhattarai and inquired about his from doctors as well.
“He’s been steadily improving since he was admitted two to three days ago,” for former Crown Prince told reporters after emerging from hospital.
“We had good relationship with him,” Shah said in reply to another question.
Bhattarai is a staunch supporter of multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy; he quit the country’s oldest party when it adopted a republican stance under Girija Prasad Koirala.
He rejected an invitation to attend the just concluded 12th general convention that elected Sushil Koirala for a four-year term callimg the organization ‘nakalli or ‘sham’.
‘They [people] should be allowed to follow their religion,” the former crown prince said in response to another question whether citizens should be allowed to follow their faith.
One day before Indjrajatra, government restricted movement of his father, former King Gyanendra, confining him to Nirmal Niwas and preventing him from going to Basantapur to facilitate four Living Kumaris or living Goddesses.
Government is also considering restricting access to the then king to temples by introducing a rule/
Government, unable to institutionalize a republic in the last two years, is feeling uncomfortable with Gyanendra’s visits to temples wince March this year drawing huge crowds shouting pro-monarchy slogans.
The local administration and the home ministry showed excessive force in restricting the free movement of the former king curtailing his right to movement and worship.
“We’ll accept the advise given to us,” Paras said in reply to a question whether his father would have accepted the decision of the government to restrict his movement.
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MAOIST MEET POSTPONED, VENUE CHANGED

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: The venue and date of the Maoist expanded central committee has been changed after an outbreak of dengue in Chitwan that has claimed fore than 19 lives.
The meeting was to have taken place in Chitwan from 23 October.
The pot party body will now meet in Gorkha 29 October.
A meeting of party office bearers took the decision Sunday.
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NEPALI, UKRAINIAN MISSING ON NARAYANI RIVER

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: A Nepali and an Ukrainian national have gone missing on Narayani river in Chitwan where they were bathing Sunday,
Hari Prasad Timalshina and Denzi Hulen are reported missing.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

NEPAL, CHENGDU AGREEMENT

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Chengdi Tourism Bureau (CTB) have signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote travel between Nepal and Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province.
The agreement was signed in Kathmandu Sunday.
The two organizations will promote Nepal-Lhasa-Chengdu single package tour.
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NRB TO AUCTION GOLD FROM TUESDAY

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) will auction gold every Tuesday beginning 28 September.
Central bank officials and representatives of gold traders’ associations held a meeting Sunday and discussed procures for auction.
NRB decided 17 September to auction 1,000 kg to meet shortage.
The bank will sell 100 kg yellow metal and silver every Tuesday after two in the afternoon—one kg to each trader.
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Gagan Thapa holds lead in NC vote count

Kathmandu 27 Sept.: Nepali Congress youth leader Gagan Thapa has maintained a lead in the vote count of the party's Central Working Committee membership elections under the open category [until Sunday night], Keshav P Koirala lreports in The Himalayan Times..

Senior leaders of the party Arjun Narsingh KC, Khum Bahadur Khadka, Pradip Giri, Sujata Koirala and Dr. Sashank Koirala among others have followed him in the vote tally.

Interestingly, Thapa is KC's son-in-law. Three members of the Koirala family--Dr. Sashank, Dr. Shekhar Koirala, and Deputy Prime Minister Sujata--have also held lead. They are cousins.

The counting is being carried out at the party central office in Sanepa, Lalitpur for 25 seats under the open category and 14 under the zonal.

Dilendra Prasad Badu of Mahakali, Badri Pandey of Seti, Kishor Singh Rathaur of Bheri, Deepak Giri of Rapti, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi of Karnali, Bharat Kumar Shah of Lumbini, Surendra Prasad Pande of Gandaki, Ramesh Rijal of Narayani , Arjun Prasad Joshi of Dhaulagiri, Ananda Prasad Dhungana of Janakpur, Navindra Raj Joshi of Bagmati, Ram Kumar Chaudhari of Sagarmatha, Amod Prasad Upadhyay of Koshi and Nerendra Bikram Nembang have held lead over their rivals.

Above 3,000 National General Convention (NGC) representatives of the party had cast their votes on the final day of the NC's 12th NGC in Kathmandu on September 21.

Sushil Koirala has already been elected the party's president, Prakash Man Singh the general secretaray and Chitralekha Yadav the treasurer.

Under different reserved quotas, 16 leaders have already made it to the Central Working Committee of the country's largest democratic party.

Open category (25 seats)

With 2200 votes counted

Gagan Thapa: 1461

Arjun Narsingh KC: 1428

Khum Bahadur Khadka: 1296

Pradip Giri: 1278

Sashank Koirala: 1226

Sujata Koirala: 1221

Ram Chandra Paudel: 1208

Ram Sharan Mahat: 1194

Bal Krishna Khad: 1149

N P Saud: 1127

Shekhar Koirala: 1054

Mahesh Acharya: 1041

Minendra Rijal: 1033

Prakash Sharan Mahat : 1016

Chandra Bhandari: 993

Krishna Sitaula: 963

Gopal Man Shrestha: 951

Narayan Khadka: 928

Purna Bahadur Khadka: 924

Bal Bahadur KC: 917

Kul Bahadur Gurung: 800

Manmohan Bhattarai: 796

Shankar Bhandari: 894

Gyanendra Bahadur Karki: 780

Deep Kumar Upadhyaya: 713

Govinda Raj Joshi: 710

Jeep chhiring Lama: 708

Pradeep Paudel: 689

Shobhakar Parajuli: 660

Chiranjivi Kumar Wagle: 650

Chakra Prasad Bastala: 642

D B Lama: 622





Zonal Category

With 2094 votes counted

Mahakali

Dilendra Prasad Badu: 945

Ramesh Lekhak: 931

Seti

Badri Pandey: 709

Arjun Jang Bdr Singh: 630

Bheri

Kishor Singh Rathaur: 799

Hridaya Ram Thani: 505

Rapti

Deepak Giri: 956

Rajendra Bdr Shah: 495

Karnali

Jeevan Bahadur Shahi: 889

Din Bandhu Shrestha: 799

Lumbini

Bharat Kumar Shah: 728

Krishna Chandra Nepali: 710

Gandaki

Surendra Prasad Pande: 715

Raghu Nath Paudel: 515

Narayani

Ramesh Rijal: 760

Rajendra Bdr Amatya: 656

Dhaulagiri

Arjun Prasad Joshi: 869

Kiran Paudel: 742

Janakpur

Ananda Prasad Dhungana: 755

Devi Neupane: 536

Bagmati

Navindra Raj Joshi: 913

Dhyan Govinda Ranjit: 604

Sagarmath

Ram Kumar Chaudahari: 691

Subas Pokharel: 532

Koshi

Amod Prasad Upadhyay: 864

Umesh Jang Rayamajhi: 673

Mechi

Naredra Bikram Nembang: 898

Sudhir Kumar Siwakoti: 619
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Majority for Sushil camp likely

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: As counting for the votes progressed, at a rather slower pace than expected, the final composition of the Nepali Congress (NC) Central Working Committee (CWC) has become more or less clear, The Kathmandu Post reports.
Though the counting for 39 seats was not complete by 8 pm on Saturday (the time counting was stopped for the day), the picture it gave pointed to a comfortable majority for party President Sushil Koirala’s camp with approximately 55 percent of the seats in the CWC.

The final outcome is also likely to see a return of a majority of old faces. The consolation for Deuba camp is that more new faces have returned there. For the 25 seats in the open contest, the Sushil camp is leading in 14 while the Deuba group is holding on to 11 seats. For the 14 zonal seats, the establishment faction has maintained a lead in nine seats. In the seats reserved for marginalised groups and nationalities, the Deuba faction has already grabbed 12 seats, while 10 establishment candidates have become victorious. If the present lead remains unchanged, the final tally would give the Sushil camp a total of 33 and the Deuba camp 28.

Among the declared winners for the remaining five reserved seats on Saturday, Bishnu Raj Angdambe and Sita Gurung won from the Deuba camp, while Suryaman Gurung, Dhan Raj Gurung and Ratna Sherchan won from the Sushil faction.

Familiar faces leading the vote count include Arjun Narsingh KC, Ram Chandra Poudel, Gagan Thapa, Sujata Koirala, Shekhar Koirala, Ram Sharan Mahat, and Shashank Koirala from the establishment faction, while Khum Bahadur Khadka, Pradeep Giri, Bal Krishna Khand, Minendra Rijal and Prakash Sharan Mahat are leading in the Deuba faction.

If the leads are anything to go by, the CWC will be dominated by a majority of old hands.

The “third faction” has so far failed to win a place on the NC’s top table. Former Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola, a third front candidate, who was expected to win, was trailing too.

Counting will resume at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
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MAOISTS TO DISCUSS HYDRO ISSUE

Kathmandu, 27 Sept.: Barely five days after the Maoists’ Department of Water Resources and Energy demanded that the 14 hydropower projects to be constructed under foreign investment be halted, a top Maoist leader has said that the issue is yet to be taken up by the party, Republica reports.
Maoist Vice-chairman Narayankazi Shrestha said the party is yet to look into the report that has been prepared by the water resources and energy department of the party.
“The report prepared by the energy department has been taken as a preliminary study,” Shrestha told Republica, adding,” The party is yet to go through it seriously.”
Chief of the department Lilamani Pokhrel on September 21 had said that the 14 hydropower projects must be shelved as they had received the government’s nod violating parliamentary procedures. He had further claimed that most of the projects were against national interests.
“We had not yet drawn conclusion as to which of the hydropower projects among the 14 is against our national interest,” Shrestha said. He, however, maintained that those water resources-related treaties and agreement that are against national interest should either be abrogated or rectified.
The report had also claimed that the Maoists had to resort to such measures as most of the projects were export-oriented. It said that it would not be reasonable to export electricity when the people were bearing the brut of acute power shortage. The report also argued that electricity was a sort of raw material and no country has become rich by exporting the raw materials.
“Though the issue primarily falls under the jurisdiction of the department, the party will discuss the report as it is national issue,’ he further clarified.
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