Himalayan crisis | Nepal’s three main parties discuss formation of new government

Nepalese protesters try to clash with policemen after burning a copy of the new constitution during the protest organized by splinter of the Maoist party

Leaders of Nepal’s three main political parties discussed formation of a new government yesterday following the adoption of a new constitution last month.
Narayankaji Shrestha of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist said the parties are attempting to form a government with representation from the major political parties in parliament. He said they were unable to reach agreement but negotiations would continue.
Parliament is likely to vote next week on a prime minister to lead a new government. The constitution adopted on Sept. 20 by an overwhelming majority in the Constituent Assembly says a new government needs to take over soon, to be followed by vote on a new president to succeed Ram Baran Yadav, the first president since the Himalayan nation was declared a republic.
Khadga Prasad Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal-­Unified Marxist Leninist is expected to be the new prime minister.
Current Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Oli’s party formed a coalition government in 2014 after the two parties together won nearly two-thirds of the seats in parliament. Koirala, the leader of the larger party, became the first prime minister and it was believed that Koirala and Oli would swap after the constitution was adopted.
Nepalese unhappy with the new constitution have been protesting in the southern border area.
But the main group protesting against the new constitution in Nepal has agreed to sit down for talks with the government in the first step toward easing the lingering crisis in the Himalayan nation.
United Democratic Madhesi Front said in a statement yesterday that they had selected a four-member team to hold talks with the government. The front is the main group leading protests in southern Nepal that have left more than 45 people dead and have stopped the flow of fuel and supplies to the country’s north, including the capital.
They said they will continue their protests, including blocking highways and border points with India.
The ethnic Madhesis are upset that the new constitution divides Nepal into seven new states, with some borders slicing through their ancestral homeland in the southern plains. Madhesis, along with several other small ethnic groups, want the states to be larger and to be given more autonomy over local matters.
The Madhesis live in the southern border areas of Nepal and have close cultural ties with India, which has been supporting them and imposed an unofficial blockade, stopping the flow of oil and other essential supplies over the border. AP