CURRENT UPDATE :PRIME MINISTER OF NEPAL

SUSHIL KOIRALA SET TO BECOME NEXT PRIME MINISTER OF NEPAL

Veteran Nepali Congress leader Sushil Koirala is set to become the next prime minister of Nepal with the support of the CPN-UML, ending months of political gridlock following last year's elections.

The Parliament of Nepal will elect Koirala, 75, as prime minister on Monday following the Constituent Assembly elections on 19th November that failed to throw up a clear winner. 

The CPN-UML standing committee has decided to back Koirala for the top post after the party reached a six-point deal with the Nepali Congress (NC). 

The deal was inked between the two top leaders of the parties, NC president Koirala and CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal on Sunday. 

The two largest parties in the Constituent Assembly, NC and CPN-UML, reached the agreement after several rounds of negotiations on the issue of power sharing, according to sources. 

Koirala on Sunday filed his nomination for the post of prime minister which was proposed by party vice president Ram Chandra Poudyal and seconded by CPN-UML parliamentary party leader K P Sharma Oli.

Under the six-point agreement, the two parties have agreed to promulgate the new constitution within a year and to hold elections for the posts of president, vice president and chairman of the Constituent Assembly after it approves the new constitution, said NC spokesperson Dilendra Badu. 

The agreement also mentioned about taking ownership of the past agreements of the dissolved Constituent Assembly regarding the drafting of the constitution. 

After filing his nomination papers in Parliament, Koirala expressed commitment to promulgate the new constitution within a year through consensus among all political parties. 

He also said that his party is holding continuous parleys with Unified CPN-Maoist and other political parties for joining the new coalition under his leadership. 

The NC has 194 seats in the 601-member Constituent Assembly while the CPN-UML has 173 seats. 

With the support of CPN-UML, Koirala can easily get a simple majority in votes. 

The CPN-UML had earlier pressed for new elections for president and vice president. 

However, after reaching a power sharing deal, the party agreed to support Koirala as prime minister.