Ruling coalition meeting: Discussion on VP candidacy

Participants in the ruling coalition’s meeting here today discussed and decided candidacy for Vice-President. The election for Vice-President is taking place on March 17 for which nomination paper is being field today. The meeting held at official residence of Prime Minister in Baluwatar, decided to file nomination of three candidates from the ruling coalition for the post, said Janamat Party’s CK Raut.

Mamata Jha of Janamat Party would be in the fray while Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal has decided to field both female and male candidates, informed Raut. The Election Commission of Nepal has directed to register the nomination paper of the candidates of different gender and community than that of the President for the upcoming Vice-President election. Raut added, “We have agreed to register nomination of three candidates and pick one candidate by tomorrow through a consensus. The coalition has decided to register candidacy for three candidates today.” He further said the ruling alliance parties, however, have agreed to make Jha as the female candidate for Vice-Presidential post as per the constitutional provision that vice-president should be female if President is male.

Earlier, the coalition had decided to field candidacy of Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal leader Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav for the Vice-President. Since the Election Commission instructed that the Vice-President should be female following the election of Ram Chandra Poudel as the President on March 9, the coalition reconsidered the candidacy and decided to nominate female candidates for the second highest post in the country. Present in the meeting were Prime Minister and CPN (Moist Centre) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairperson Madhav Kumar Nepal and former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai among other top leaders of the ruling coalition.