Maoist chief Prachanda exits from Nepal PM race
September 17th, 2010 - 12:57 pm ICT by IANSBy Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, Sep 17 (IANS) Nepal’s opposition Maoist party Friday announced it was pulling out of the prime ministerial race with chief and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda withdrawing his candidature from the vote scheduled for Sep 26.
The former guerrillas reached the decision after Prachanda, who had become Nepal’s first Maoist prime minister in 2008 with overwhelming majority, failed to garner simple majority in parliament despite seven rounds of vote started in July.
Maoist deputy chief and lawmaker Narayan Kaji Shrestha announced the decision after the Maoist top leadership held a meeting Friday with caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and senior members of his Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist.
Shrestha said neither the Maoists nor the communists would take part in the eighth round of election Sep 26.
With the two of the three largest parties boycotting the poll, it will mean Prachanda’s challenger, Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress party, will not be able to win simple majority either.
Now the parties are likely to begin fresh negotiations either to form a government on the basis of national consensus or change the election process.
(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)
- Nepal Maoists pull out Prachanda from PM race (Lead) - Sep 17, 2010
- Nepal faces another fruitless poll for prime minister - Sep 25, 2010
- Shaky Nepal PM names cabinet, Maoists refuse to join (Lead) - Feb 10, 2011
- Communist victory likely as Nepal holds PM poll - Feb 03, 2011
- Nepal Maoists refuse to join new government over power-sharing row - Feb 10, 2011
- Nepal PM poll put off due to fiasco fear (Lead) - Aug 17, 2010
- Nepal PM poll headed for failure again - Aug 17, 2010
- Nepal parties riven with dissent ahead of 17th PM poll - Jan 12, 2011
- Nepal PM race ends in fiasco, Maoists get thumbs-down (Third Lead) - Jul 21, 2010
- Nepal to hold fourth round of PM poll Thursday (Lead) - Aug 02, 2010
- UN restive at Nepal impasse - Jul 27, 2010
- Nepal still awaits new PM - Aug 02, 2010
- Nepal PM poll put off as lone candidate quits - Jan 12, 2011
- Maoists return to power in Nepal - Aug 28, 2011
- Supreme Court orders end to Nepal PM poll fiasco - Dec 18, 2010
Tags: candidature, caretaker, communist party of nepal, communists, dahal, deputy chief, former prime minister, guerrillas, kamal, lawmaker, madhav, maoist, maoists, marxist leninist, national consensus, nepali congress party, overwhelming majority, ram chandra, sarkar, shrestha