News EnglishJuly 20, 2008 2:07 am

Nepali CA members begin voting in presidential election

    KATHMANDU, July 19 (Xinhua) — Nepali Constituent Assembly (CA)members began voting in presidential election at 11:36 a.m. (0551 GMT) on Saturday at the CA venue International Conference Center (ICC) in Kathmandu, to elect the first president and vice president of the youngest republic in the world.

    Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic at the first CA meeting on May 28, ending the 240-year Shah dynasty.

    Three candidates have been registered for the post of president and four for the vice president till the fixed time on Thursday.

    The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M), Nepali Congress (NC), the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) (CPN-UML) and Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) have filed the names of their candidates for the president and vice president.

    The CPN-M, the single largest CA party with seats more than the total of the following NC and CPN-UML, proposed a Madhesi republican leader Ram Raja Prasad Singh for the presidential post and its CA lawmaker Shanta Shrestha for the vice presidential post.

    The NC has registered its General Secretary Ram Baran Yadav as presidential candidate and veteran dalit leader Man Bahadur Bishwakarma as vice presidential candidate.

    The CPN-UML has proposed the name of a former vice chairman of the upper house and a dalit leader Ramprit Paswan for president and its party leader Astalaxmi Shakya for vice president.

    The MPRF registered the name of a former justice of supreme court Parmananda Jha for the vice presidential post.

    The President and Vice President are to be elected through a confidential vote and parties cannot impose any whip on their members to vote for a particular candidate. Saturday’s voting results will be declared by the CA election committee at 17:00 local time (1115 GMT), according to the CA schedule.

    If a single candidate fails to secure a simple majority (298 votes out of 594 CA member voters), two top candidates securing the largest number of votes will contest again in the elections for the second round. The elections will be held in successive rounds until a single candidate for the two posts emerge with a simple majority.

    Madhesi parties once promised to support CPN-M nominated president candidate, which made a simple majority support for Ram Raja Prasad Singh. However, that the CPN-M refused to extend support Madhesi parties’ proposal of vice president shook the latter’s stance.

    What’s more, after their bids to bag president were simultaneously rejected by the CPN-M, the NC and the CPN-UML joined hands and reached to the Madhesi parties, particularly the MPRF.

    Reports from local leading news website Nepalnews.com on Saturday said "in what appears to be a reaction to what they have termed as CPN-M’ ‘back-stabbing’, the NC and CPN-UML have agreed to support each other’s candidates for the position of president and CA speaker respectively."

    The total CA seats of the NC and CPN-UML, less than the single largest CPN-M, still falls short of simple majority. "The two parties are trying to rope in the Madhesi parties by agreeing to a package of power-sharing formula based on which they would not only support MPRF candidate for vice president but also divide key portfolios while forming the new government. If this package materializes, the CPN-M may not be able to even form the government," the report said.

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News English 2:00 am

Nepali presidential election voting ends

    KATHMANDU, July 19 (Xinhua) — The Nepali presidential election voting ended Saturday afternoon at the Constituent Assembly (CA)venue, International Conference Center (ICC) in Kathmandu.

    The CA members started voting to elect the first president and vice president of the youngest republic in the world at Saturday noon.

    Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic at the first CA meeting on May 28, ending the 240-year Shah dynasty.

    Three candidates have been registered for the post of president and four for the vice president till the fixed time on Thursday.

    The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M), Nepali Congress (NC), the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) (CPN-UML) and Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) have filed the names of their candidates for the president and vice president.

    The CPN-M, the single largest CA party with seats more than the total of the following NC and CPN-UML, proposed a Madhesi republican leader Ram Raja Prasad Singh for the presidential post and its CA lawmaker Shanta Shrestha for the vice presidential post.

    The NC has registered its General Secretary Ram Baran Yadav as presidential candidate and veteran dalit leader Man Bahadur Bishwakarma as vice presidential candidate.

A Nepali Constituent Assembly (CA) member casts his ballot in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, July 19, 2008.

    The CPN-UML has proposed the name of a former vice chairman of the upper house and a dalit leader Ramprit Paswan for president and its party leader Astalaxmi Shakya for vice president.

    The MPRF registered the name of a former justice of supreme court Parmananda Jha for the vice presidential post.

    Saturday’s voting results will be declared by the CA election committee at 5 p.m. local time (1115 GMT), according to the CA schedule.

    If a single candidate fails to secure a simple majority (298 votes out of 594 CA member voters), two top candidates securing the largest number of votes will contest again in the elections for the second round. The elections will be held in successive rounds until a single candidate for the two posts emerge with a simple majority.

Nepali Constituent Assembly (CA) members queue to vote in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 19, 2008.

    Madhesi parties once promised to support CPN-M nominated president candidate, which made a simple majority support for Ram Raja Prasad Singh. However, that the CPN-M refused to extend support Madhesi parties’ proposal of vice president shook the latter’s stance.

    In a sudden shift in political equation, three largest CA parties following the single largest CPN-M, the NC, CPN-UML and MPRF, have agreed to share the three key positions — president, vice-president and CA speaker, local leading news website Nepalnews.com reported on Saturday afternoon.

    "As per the understanding reached at a meeting of the three parties Saturday morning, just ahead of the presidential election, CPN-UML and MPRF have agreed to back NC’s presidential candidate Dr. Ram Baran Yadav while MPRF’s Paramananda Jha will get support for the vice presidential slot. Likewise, CPN-UML has settled for the chair of the CA," the report read.

    However, the three parties will have to bring few other allies on board to reach the magic number, 298, in order to materialize their agreement. The total CA seats of the NC and CPN-UML, less than the single largest CPN-M, with the possible support from MPRF, still falls short of simple majority.




    KATHMANDU, July 19 (Xinhua) — Nepali Constituent Assembly (CA)members began voting in presidential election at 11:36 a.m. (0551 GMT) on Saturday at the CA venue International Conference Center (ICC) in Kathmandu, to elect the first president and vice president of the youngest republic in the world.

   Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic at the first CA meeting on May 28, ending the 240-year Shah dynasty.

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News English 1:45 am

Iraqi Sunnis return to government


    BAGHDAD, July 19 (Xinhua) — The Iraqi government on Saturday endorsed a list of ministerial posts, including candidates from a leading Sunni party alliance which quitted the government a year ago.

    The return of Sunnis marks a positive step towards achieving political reconciliation in the country plagued by sectarian feud.

    Six portfolios went to the Sunni bloc Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), including a deputy prime minister, ministers for higher education, culture and communication, and ministers of state for foreign affairs and women’s affairs.

    Four independent candidates filled up the vacuum left after the withdrawal of a Shiite party last year.

    "What happened today is a national step forward to boost the government’s role and take the national reconciliation ahead," said the bloc’s spokesman Saleem Abdullah.

    "The IAF is committed to supporting the national unity government, as long as it moves in the right direction, and the government in return is committed to giving the IAF a real active participation," he said.

    The IAF is the third largest bloc in the parliament. It pulled its six members out of the cabinet in August, claiming that the Shiite-led government had snubbed its demands like a greater share of power and the release of Iraqis jailed for security reasons, including a considerable number of Sunnis.

    A Shiite party led by radical cleric Muqtada Sadr and the secular party headed by former interim government Prime Minister Iyad Allawi also followed suit last year.

    Their walk-out left the 40-member cabinet nearly half vacant and had negative impact on the post-war reconstruction and national reconciliation efforts.

    Sunnis Arabs favored under Saddam Hussein’s regime represent about 20 percent of the country’s population. They lost their preference when Iraq’s majority Shiites held sway after the former ruler’s ouster in 2003.

    Their rivalries led to a flare-up of sectarian fighting which aimed to tip the country into an all-out civil war.

    The United States has been asking Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government to bring back the Sunnis so that a genuine national reconciliation could be achieved to shore up a security gain.

    Since late last year, the Iraqi government has taken actions in an effort to soothe the Sunnis.

    The parliament passed a government-proposed amnesty law in February, which would free tens of thousands of detainees.

    Iraq also has adopted a legislation through which more members of Saddam Hussein’ Baath party will have access to government jobs.

    Still, Maliki has ordered a series of security operations against outlaw militia, notably those belonging to Sadr.

    Despite the return of the IAF, rifts are emerging within the Sunnis themselves.

    The leading party within the Sunni bloc, the Iraq Islamic Party(IIP), is expected to face strong challenges in the upcoming provincial elections in October from grassroots Sunnis who accuse it of doing little to improve their lives.

    As an alliance of Sunni Arab tribes, the Awakening Council plays a key role in Iraq’s security turnaround by standing up against the al-Qaida network.

    The alliance intends to flex its muscles in the provincial elections as an up-and-coming political force.

    In the Sunni-populated Anbar province, the Awakening Council, which controls the police and the IIP sitting on the provincial council, has been exchanging accusations and threatening in a struggle for power.

    The Awakening Council involves local armed groups, especially some powerful anti-U.S. Sunni insurgent groups, who fight the al-Qaida network after the latter committed indiscriminate killings against both Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities.

    The Iraqi government acknowledges the Awakening Council’s contribution to the security improvement around Iraq in recent months, but remains concerned that the groups could grow into new militia in the future.

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