Ruling coalition reach consensus on seat-sharing

KATHMANDU: The ruling coalition has finalized the sharing of 20 seats in the National Assembly.

According to Nepali Congress (NC) Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak, four parties of the coalition – Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), and Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) – reached an understanding to share seats on Sunday morning.

Twenty seats in the National Assembly, including one nominated by the President on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, are becoming vacant on March 4. The Election Commission is holding a vote on January 25 to fill 19 of those seats.

According to the understanding reached among the four parties, NC will field its candidates in 10 seats, Maoist Center in six, Unified Socialist in two, and JSP in one. NC will file its candidates in two seats in Sudurapshchim, Bagmati, and Gandaki, and one seat each in Koshi, Madhesh, Karnali, and Lumbini.

Similarly, the Maoist Center will get one seat each in Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim. Likewise, Unified Socialist will get one seat each in Bagmati and Karnali provinces, while JSP will get one seat in Madhesh Province.

Meanwhile, the parties have forged an understanding to send Durga Pokharel to the National Assembly for the seat to be appointed by the President. Pokharel was defeated in the election for the House of Representatives held in November last year by CPN-UML’s Surya Thapa. She is the wife of Mohan Bikram Singh, the general secretary of CPN (Masal).