Oli to lead govt, party, hints Pokharel

Kathmandu, December 15

CPN-UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokhrel today hinted that UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli would lead both the new government and the party.

Pokharel said CPN-Maoist Centre Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal had earlier publicly said that Oli would lead the new government and, therefore, though not officially decided, it was understandable that the UML chief would be the new prime minister of the country.

Stating that formation of the new government and unification between UML and CPN-MC would move ahead simultaneously, Pokhrel said the idea of running the government and the party by two different persons ‘would create problems’.

He also described the issue as an internal matter of the two parties, which he said would be resolved through mutual dialogue. “We have formed a party unification coordination committee and the committee will sort out this issue amicably,” he said.

Pokhrel also said people wanted the two parties to be unified and therefore the merger would soon materialise. “We will keep an open mind on discussing party restructuring. We will work on this keeping in view the interest of people and the country,” he said.

Pokhrel also said the two parties would discuss what responsibilities each would get in the new government. He added that the popular mandate was to form a majority government for political stability in the country and, as such, the issue of government formation would not be a big deal for them.

CPN-MC leader Matrika Yadav said political parties should honour the people’s mandate and this time the people’s mandate was that UML and CPN-MC should be unified. Stating that the two parties would move ahead as per ‘the agreement’ between the heads of the two parties, the Maoist leader said no one could jeopardise their party unification. “We asked people to vote for us telling them that the two parties would merge into one to bring political stability. And the people voted for us. Let’s not forget this.”

He also ascribed political changes that the country had witnessed, to the ‘people’s war’. “I do not know which leader said what, but my view is that neither UML nor CPN-MC would have won these many seats had they contested the elections single-handedly. So,there should be no arrogance for winning more seats and no frustration for winning less seats. We must respect the people’s mandate,” he said.

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