Nepal's president asks parties to decide his tenure

Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav Sunday asked senior leaders of the country's major political parties to take a decision regarding his tenure, as it expired after the Nov 19 elections.

The country's head of state made the request after the two major Left parties -- who rank second and third, respectively, in the new constituent assembly -- called for fresh presidential elections as the term of the president had expired, Xinhua reported.

Inviting senior leaders of all the political parties to his official residence, Yadav made it clear that he is ready to abide by the all-party decision regarding his term.

The second and third largest parties in the new constituent assembly -- the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist), respectively -- are putting pressure on the largest party Nepali Congress to go in for fresh presidential elections.

But the Nepali Congress was of the view that the incumbent president, elected in 2008, should remain in place till the promulgation of a new constitution by the second constituent assembly.

"The president asked us to take a common position about his tenure instead of making the issue controversial at public forums. The president also said that a cross-party decision would be acceptable to him," CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal said.

The senior leaders of the major parties, including Nepali Congress president Sushil Koriala, CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, assured President Yadav that they will soon take a decision on the issue.