PM Deuba and Prachanda agree to form new govt in Nepal

Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda held a meeting on Saturday and they agreed to continue their ruling five-party alliance as part of a new majority government in the country.

As the results of Nepal’s parliamentary elections under direct voting come closer to an end, top political parties have intensified efforts for the formation of the new government to end the political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation for more than a decade.

Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on Sunday. The counting of votes started on Monday.

Prime Minister Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Prachanda met at the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, according to party sources.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the current political developments and explored possibilities for the formation of the new government, said Ganesh Shah, Standing Committee member of the CPN-Maoist Centre.

"The two leaders have reached an understanding to continue the present ruling alliance," he said, exuding confidence that the five-party alliance will have enough strength in parliament to form a majority government.

"Janata Samajwadi Party led by Upendra Yadav will also join the ruling alliance led by the Nepali Congress and, with the support from both the Madhesi parties, we will have a comfortable majority to form the government," Shah told PTI.

The alliance includes the Nepali Congress led by Prime Minister Deuba, CPN-Maoist led by Prachanda, CPN-Unified Socialist headed by Madhav Nepal, Mahantha Thakur’s Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janamorcha led by Chitra Bahadur.

The five-party ruling alliance has secured 82 seats so far while the CPN-UML alliance led by former prime minister K P Oli has bagged 52 seats under the direct election.

After the results of the HoR seats, under both direct and proportional voting systems, the Nepali Congress-led alliance is likely to have enough seats to form the majority government.

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava is meeting Nepal’s top political leaders as the counting of votes for the Federal parliament and provincial assemblies continues.

Ambassador Srivastava held meetings with Prime Minister Deuba and Prachanda on Friday and Saturday, according to sources close to the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre.

In the 275-member House of Representatives, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional electoral system. A party or a coalition needs 138 seats for a clear majority.

Political instability has been a recurrent feature of Nepal's Parliament since the end of the decade-long Maoist insurgency, and no prime minister has served a full term after the civil war ended in 2006.

The frequent changes and fighting among parties have been blamed for the country's slow economic growth.

There are two major political alliances contesting the polls - the ruling Nepali Congress-led democratic and leftist alliance and the CPN-UML-led leftist and pro-Hindu, pro-monarchy alliance.

The next government will face challenges of keeping a stable political administration, reviving the tourism industry and balancing ties with neighbours - China and India.