Date:30/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/30/stories/2007103055831400.htm

International

Nepal House set to vote on Maoists’ proposals

Ameet Dhakal

KATHMANDU: The special session of Nepal’s interim Parliament resumed here after about two weeks of adjournment.

Though the House was adjourned to seek a consensus on two crucial proposals tabled by the Maoists in the House, political parties are anywhere but close to an agreement.

The fate of the Maoists’ proposals to declare the country a republic and to change the current mixed electoral system to a fully proportional one, are now likely to be decided through voting.

If tabled for voting, the proposals are likely to be defeated since the Nepali Congress has said it would vote against them and the CPN-UML is likely to abstain from the voting. The Nepali Congress has 132 seats in the 328-member House, while the Maoists and the CPN-UML have 84 and 83 seats respectively.

The voting is likely to take place on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.