UML forwards Nepal’s name as presidential candidate

After the Maoists hardened their stance against electing prime minister and president of Nepali Congress (NC) Girija Prasad Koirala as president, the third largest party Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) has jumped in the fray proposing the name of its former general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal for the top position, according to a news report in Kantipur daily.

The daily quotes sources as saying that the Maoists and UML have reached an understanding to jointly propose an alternative to Koirala for presidency.

The UML general secretary Jhalnath Khanal is said to have popped up the name of Nepal for president during his talks with Maoist leaders on Monday.

The dispute among three big parties – Maoists, NC and UML – on power-sharing, particularly, the presidency has prolonged the political deadlock preventing the formation of new government despite the passage of two months since the election for the Constituent Assembly (CA). The election results made Maoists the single largest party although without even single majority. The NC and UML emerged as second and third largest parties, respectively.

The Maoists have been rejecting the name of Koirala for president stating that the move would create a parallel power center. The NC, on the other hand, has pointed the need to install Koirala as president in order to have balance of power in the ‘crucial transitional phase of constitution-making.’ nepalnews.com sd Jun 19 08