Nepal fails to elect premier in seventh round of voting

Sep 7, 2010, 12:58 GMT

Kathmandu - Nepal's parliament on Tuesday failed for the seventh time to elect a prime minister.

Neither Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal norand Nepali Congress parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel garnered the required majority to become prime minister.

Dahal received 252 votes, while Poudel received 119 on Tuesday.

A candidate needs 300 votes from among the 589 members currently sitting in the 601-seat parliament to become prime minister.

'The next round of voting to elect a prime minister will take place on September 26,' said House Speaker Subash Chandra Nembwang.

Nepal has been under a caretaker government since June 30, when Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned under Maoist pressure, saying he was making way for the formation of a unity government.

Failure to elect a government has led to political crisis. The country awaits a full budget, which the caretaker government is not in a position to approve, and the impasse has begun to affect the administration of the country.

The Maoists, who came into mainstream politics through the Constituent Assembly election in 2008, were ousted from the government in 2009 following a power struggle with the president. They have been attempting to return to power since and had sped up consultations with other parties ahead of the latest vote.

The Madhesi Front, comprising four plains-based parties with 82 seats, has been divided over whom to support. The election hinges on their votes and those of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML).

UML, the third largest party in the parliament, has abstained from voting, saying a majority government is not the solution to the nation's problems.