ITAHARI: Koshi Province will get its new Chief Minister on Friday only.
The Office of the Province Chief has said that it would review both claims for the government formation on Friday and make a decision accordingly. “We will study both the claims and address other matters on Friday,” Province Chief Parshuram Khapung said, according to Narendra Shrestha, the spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Minister.
Indra Angbo of CPN (Maoist Center) and Kedar Bahadur Karki of Nepali Congress (NC) submitted their claims for government formation on Thursday. Angbo enjoys the support of four parties in the province assembly – NC, Maoist Center, CPN (Unified Socialist), and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) – as per the understanding reached among ruling coalition partners. However, nine NC province assembly members close to the anti-establishment faction of the party led by Dr. Shekhar Koirala have endorsed Karki’s bid for government formation. Karki has the backing of CPN-UML.
NC’s Deputy Leader in the province assembly, Himal Karki, resigned from the post earlier on the day and endorsed Karki’s claim for government formation.
The top post in Koshi Province has been lying vacant since Saturday when Hikmat Bahadur Karki of CPN-UML tendered his resignation before facing the floor test.
Province Chief Khapung then gave political parties until 5 pm on Friday to submit their claims for government formation, as per Article 168 (5) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2015.
If the Chief Minister appointed on Friday fails to secure a vote of confidence within a month, Province Chief Khapung will dissolve the province assembly and call for a mid-term election within six months.
The chief minister aspirants must have the support of 47 members in the 93-member province assembly.
Observers suggest that Karki’s claim is strong given that he has the backing of 49 members of the province assembly. However, since some NC assembly members have endorsed the claims of both Angbo and Karki, the situation will become clearer on Friday only.
CPN-UML is the largest party in the province assembly with 40 members including the deputy speaker. Nepali Congress (NC) has 29, Maoist Center 13, RPP CPN (Unified Socialist) 4, and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) 1.
