From election postponement to government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi’s resignation as chief justice , the CPN-Maoist is ‘concentrating’ on only one demand for now.The Mohan Baidya-led party on Sunday insisted that Regmi, the Chairman of the Interim Election Government, respect the ‘time-honoured principal of separation of powers in a democracy’ and step down from the judicial post he still holds. The party said the current government could then be ‘reshuffled’ as per Article 38 (1) of the Interim Constitution, which envisages a consensus government.
The party had been earlier demanding postponement of the November 19 Constituent Assembly election, saying that only poll deferral could open doors for striking agreement on other issues.
After a second round of all-party meeting at the official residence of President Ram Baran Yadav at Sheetal Niwas on Sunday, leaders of major political parties termed the Baidya demand ‘positive.’ They were, however, unsure about whether to go ahead with the election as planned in November.
The CPN-Maoist, however, did not commit on joining the poll process even if Regmi quits as the chief justice .
Baidya said his party was ready to demonstrate flexibility on the other demands if Regmi resigned as chief justice immediately.
Though the party said the election date will not be a big issue after its demands are met, party secretary Dev Gurung made it clear that they need at least three months to prepare themselves for the election. This means the Baidya party cannot join in if the election is to be held on November 19.
The High-level Political Committee (HLPC) decided not to take any position on Baidya’s demand, but leaders in the mechanism said they will convey the matter to Regmi. The leaders added that the government chairman could then take a call on this on his own will, according to a Maoist leader present in Sunday’s meeting.
Regmi has been rejecting calls to step down as the chief justice . In the HLPC, the UCPN (Maoist) is in favour of such a resignation, while the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML are internally divided on the matter.
Earlier in the day, the HLPC that met at Sheetal Niwas took a few ‘positive’ decisions on Baidya’s demands. It considered giving the CPN-Maoist some time to register itself with the EC and to file its candidacy for the polls if the party commits to join the election process.
“We can postpone the date of candidature nominations until after the Dashain festival if the party agrees to join the election process,” Nepali Congress Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel said after the meeting.
The HLPC also agreed to go for a round-table conference and form a taskforce to prepare a common minimum understanding on key contentions of the new constitution. It further said the election can be postponed by a ‘couple of weeks’ if the CPN-Maoist agrees to join in.
The all-party meeting that started at 1:30 pm continued until nine in the evening. In the meeting, fringe parties said that the HLPC should be ready to postpone the election to March/April to accommodate the CPN-Maoist.
Emerging from the meeting, UML leader Raghuji Panta said that although the meeting dragged on for several hours, parties failed to get a commitment from the CPN-Maoist.
Before the HLPC meeting, leaders of the UCPN (Maoist) and the CPN-Maoist held separate talks at UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s residence.
According to leaders, Dahal urged Baidya to unite with the UCPN (Maoist) and go to the polls. Dahal told Baidya that he is ready to play a role in seeking Regmi’s resignation as the chief justice and postpone the election by some weeks.
Another round of negotiations between the HLPC and the CPN-Maoist are likely to take place on Monday.
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