Nepal Faces Political Crisis as Parties Fail to Agree on New Government

29 July 2010

Dark clouds loom over Nepal's Constitutional Assembly building as a fresh vote for a new leader was ordered by House Speaker Subash Nemwang after none of three candidates managed to get a majority vote in the 601-seat parliament, Nepal, 23 July 2010

Nepal's former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned last month after Maoists led massive protests demanding that he make way for a power sharing government.

But despite weeks of negotiations, the three main political parties – the Maoists, the Nepali Congress, and the Communist Party known as UML have failed to reach a consensus on who should head a new government.

Lawmakers have voted twice to elect a prime minister. But neither the Maoist leader, popularly known as Prachanda, nor the Nepali Congress candidate, Ram Chandra Poudel, could win a majority.

2008 election brought peace

The situation is in stark contrast to 2008, when elections were held after a peace deal ended a 10-year violent insurgency and drew Maoist rebels into the political mainstream.

The polls, billed as historic, brought the former guerrillas to the helm of government. Although the Maoists did not win a clear majority in a hung parliament, they easily secured support from other parties. A hopeful mood gripped the nation as it looked ahead to peace and stability.