Nepali opposition threatens boycott of Constituent Assembly

Nepal's key opposition parties including UCPN-Maoist and Joint Madhesi Forum have threatened to walk out of the Constituent Assembly if the ruling parties adopt voting process to promulgate the new constitution.
UCPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda warned that his party UCPN- Maoist, Madhes-based parties and other fringe parties may walk out of the Constituent Assembly (CA), if the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML tried to promulgate the constitution through two third majority vote.
Talking to a national daily, Republica, yesterday, Prachanda said, "If push comes to shove, we, the Maoists, Madhesis and ethnic groups in the Constituent Assembly will boycott the assembly."

He, however, ruled out the possibility of a last minute breakthrough in the constitution writing process before the January 22 deadline expires.
The mistrust between the ruling and opposition alliances reached its climax after yesterday's verbal war between the Sadbhawana Party chairman Rajendra Mahato and CPN-UML chairman K P Sharma Oli.
UML was in favour of demarcating the country from South to North merging parts of hilly regions of the country to the Terai, while Madhesi parties were in favour of demarcating the country from East to West arguing that the entire southern plains should come under either the Terai region or Tharuhat region belonging to another major ethnic group of Terai.

After Sadbhawana Party chief Mahat opposed the idea of merging parts of hilly region with Terai and demanded all plain areas to be included in the Terai region, UML chief Oli made sarcastic remarks saying, "Madhesis may also want Bihar and Utter Pradesh of India to be joined with the Terai".

Prachanda also said that the CA cannot exercise the voting process as it is the outcome of a historic movement.
"The CA is directed by historic agreements and not by majority," he argued.
Prachanda said that though the Maoist-led coalition commanded two-thirds majority in the previous CA to write a new constitution, the party did not exercise the voting process.

In a separate question he also refuted allegations that he was eyeing the post of president.
"I would have to distance myself from active politics if I am elected a ceremonial president, which is something I am not ready to do," said Prachanda.
Federal structure, forms of governance and electoral process were the major thorny issues that needed to be resolved before finalising the draft constitution.