Kathmandu, May 5:

Central leaders of Nepali Congress and CPN-UML today said that the election to the constituent assembly (CA) should be held on the basis of proportional representation in order to make a new constitution more inclusive than the 1990 one.

Speaking at a programme held by New Media Club, NC general secretary Ram Chandra Poudel said the election process must be “inclusive” so as to represent people of all regions

and social strata in the constituent assembly, which will draft a new constitution.

He said the government talks team would discuss with the Maoists the process of election to the constituent assembly and other major features of the new constitution.

“I hope the meeting of the House of Representatives on Sunday will come up with a concrete decision about an interim arrangement,” Poudel said.

CPN-UML central committee member Shankar Pokhrel said the new constitution should ensure that the country’s sovereignty, executive authority and right to rule rest with the people.

He said the election to the constituent assembly should be held on proportional representation basis, which would pave the way for true representation of all people in the constitution-drafting process.

He stressed the need for an interim statute until the new one comes into effect.

He also suggested the parties and the Maoists must be clear about the number of electoral constituencies of the constituent assembly, its election process and the constitution-drafting process.

Pokharel said Nepal’s army would never be democratised without freeing from royal influence.

The only way to make it free from royal influence, he said, is to ensure that nobody except the Chief of Army Staff and his rank and file have the right to exercise military authority. He also suggested the alliance partners to follow a short-cut to go for a constituent assembly election.

NC leader Dr Shekhar Koirala said the proportional representation system was the best way to have real representation of all people in the constituent assembly election.

Koirala hoped the nation moves toward the process of constituent assembly election once the Maoists come for negotiations.

“I am hopeful that talks this time will be fruitful as the state has adopted the concept of a constituent assembly election,” Koirala said.

“The main challenges ahead is bringing the RNA under parliament or the council of ministers and decommissioning the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army,” he said, adding that an interim arrangement should be adopted only after the Maoist lay down arms.