New PM plan a hat-trick flop

Dahal bags additional votes after 11 MJF lawmakers cross the Floor 

PHANINDRA DAHAL 
KATHMANDU, AUG 02 -
The third round of the prime ministerial election ended inconclusively on Monday despite some lawmakers from the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) crossing the floor and voting for UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The fourth round of voting has been scheduled for 3 p.m. on Aug. 6.

Dahal garnered 259 votes, while his opponent Nepali Congress’ Ram Chandra Poudel got 124 votes in the polling. Of the 599 Members of Parliament, the winning candidate had to secure 300 votes to form a majority government.

Dahal got 17 votes more than in the second round after 11 lawmakers of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) defied the party’s decision to abstain from voting. MJF Chairman Upendra Yadav and Co-Chairman Jay Prakash Prasad Gupta did not vote for Dahal as per a decision made by the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM).

UCPN(Maoist) Chairman Dahal with Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Nepal before voting.
Photo: Narendra Shrestha 

While Dahal was also voted by lawmakers of Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party, Nepal Pariwar Dal, Rastriya Janamukti Party and Nepa Rastriya Party, Poudel was backed by Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Rastriya Janashakti Party. The CPN-UML and other fringe parties voted for none of the candidates.

The voting session scheduled for 4 p.m. was delayed by four hours as the SLMM was indecisive until the last hour. Dahal made a last ditch effort to get the backing of the Madhes-based parties by sending his aides to hold talks in Singha Durbar.

While Dahal appeared upbeat after Sunday’s result, Poudel expressed dissatisfaction and accused the Maoists of “malpractice” in the polling. “The malpractice was visible in today’s election. The crossing of the floor is a clear indication of this,” said Poudel. “I have asked the UML chairman to take the incident seriously and review the party’s decision.”

UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal, however, said the party would not vote for a majority government in the next election. Maoist leader Pun, however, claimed that the NC’s allegation was baseless as MJF had formally decided to vote for Dahal. “The increasing votes in our favour shows we will secure majority in the fourth round,” he said.

The House proceeding continued till late in the night due to a serious rift between the Maoists and the NC on the date of the fourth round of election. The Maoists proposed Friday, while the NC demanded the polls be held on Aug. 18 saying that party leaders would be busy in preparations for the upcoming party convention.
The fate of the two candidates now depends on the decision of the UML and the four Madhes-based parties. Dahal will get a majority if the Madhes parties vote for him in the fourth round, while Poudel will get a chance to lead a government if the UML and the Madhes parties vote for him.