Nepal parties agree to elect new president after constitution promulgation

Nepal's major parties have agreed to elect a new president and vice-president soon after the promulgation of the new constitution, party leaders said Monday.

A meeting of Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (PDCC), a committee responsible for thrashing out the contentious issues of the new constitution, decided to elect a president and vice-president once the new constitution was promulgated, Xinhua reported.

The parties would abide by this agreement under the transitional provision of the new constitution.

PDCC chairman Baburam Bhattarai told reporters that it was a major achievement and it would contribute to speed up the constitution drafting process.

The president and vice-president were to be replaced after the new elections were held under the new provisions of the new constitution.

Ruling parties Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) were engaged in the disputed issue of the time to elect the new president under the new constitution. Parties made such a provision with the view that it would take considerable time to hold elections after promulgation of the constitution.

The NC was of the view that incumbent head of the state should remain in office till the new elections. The parties, however, are yet to agree on the form of government.

The parties have set Jan 22 as the deadline to finish drafting the new constitution.