Nepal government is all set to declare the temporary capitals of provinces and hold appointment of province chiefs though the leaders of left alliance have turned down PM Sher Bahadur Deuba’s proposal.
In an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at his official residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, on Thursday, left alliance leaders urged the government to pave the way for formation of the new government.
The UML has on the other hand accused the government of putting pressure on the Election Commission to stop announcing the full election results.
The leaders of UML and Maoist Centre have been saying that the new government should appoint province chiefs as per people’s mandate, warning that the lawmakers of the two parties would not take the oath of office and secrecy if the incumbent government appoints province chiefs unilaterally.
The government started seeking consensus bowing to the pressures from other parties to appoint province chiefs in a legal way.
With the successful conclusion of parliamentary and provincial elections held in two phases on November 26 and December 7, the government which was preparing to appoint provincial chiefs, back tracked from its move following protest from the leaders of left alliance CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre).
After the meeting, Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel told media that the government would assign temporary capitals of the provinces and the province chiefs after carrying out necessary homework in that connection. He added that the government would fix the date after consulting with the Election Commission.
CPN-UML Vice-Chairman Bhim Bahadur Rawal said that they drew the attention of the meeting towards the delay in handing over the government power and preventing the announcement of the proportional representation election results of the House of Representatives in the context of new people’s mandate.
“When we urged the government to take a decision on the province capitals and chiefs before the elections, they did not listen to us. We have clearly put forth our view that now the government should carry out the constitutional and legal works required for handing over the government reins expeditiously; and desist from taking decisions on matters of long-term impact, and promotion and transfer of civil servants,” he said.