Deuba’s resignation from PMO welcomes the Communist-led new Nepali Government with Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli as the next Prime Minister.

Deuba served in PM office for eight months post the country’s transformation from a Hindu monarchy to the federal republic.

The main target of the Deuba-led Nepali Government was to complete the three phases of the country’s most-awaited landmark elections needed for the implementation of new Nepali Constitution.

“My main responsibility was to hold the three phases of elections for the implementation of the new constitution. My responsibility has been fulfilled, so I have decided to resign,” Deuba said in a statement.

All Set for New Government

The most-awaited Nepal General Elections 2017, parliamentary and provincial polls, saw the grand victory of Communist alliance of CPN-UML and CPN-MC over the ruling Nepali Congress.

After registering a grand victory, the communist alliance parties have been in discussions over the announcement of the PM candidate.

Though two names Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal came into the picture, Oli has been finally confirmed as the next Nepal PM.

After having served a similar position from October 11, 2015 to August 3, 2016 Oli is coming back again as the 41^st PM of Nepal.

The post Deuba Resigns, Oli On the Way as New Nepal PM appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Termed as a goodwill visit, this bilateral visit is being considered as a welcoming message for the start of India’s cordial relations with the Communist-led Government of Nepal that is yet to be formed.

As part of the visit, Swaraj called on the President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari and also held discussions with a wide range of high-level Nepali politicians including CPN-UML Chairman K P Sharma Oli, CPN-MC Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Chairman of Nepal’s Federal Socialist Forum Upendra Yadav, among others.

During the discussions, Swaraj assured Indian Government’s full-fledged support to Nepal in its development and also in taking ahead bilateral ties between both the nations.

“Exchange of views on advancing our multi-dimensional relationship took place,” tweeted Raveesh Kumar, Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson.

In a one-one discussion with Dahal, Swaraj said, “We will extend full cooperation to Nepal in attaining political stability and development.”

In response, Dahal reportedly said, “The talks we had were very positive and constructive. We discussed about the situation emerging after the conclusion of the elections and the preparation for formation of new government. Swaraj assured that India will extend full cooperation to Nepal in her efforts towards attaining political stability and development.”

Meanwhile, the Communist Alliance is currently busy in preparing for the formation of new Nepali Government, post which, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also most likely to visit the Himalayan nation (according to CPN-UML).

“Modi telephoned Oli twice and both leaders invited each other for a visit to their countries,” informed CPN-UML Secretary Pradip Gyawali.

Gyawali also informed that the formation of Communist-led new Nepal Government and proposed unification of both the left parties will be completed by March 2018.

India’s Aid to Nepal

In an interesting update that boosts Indo-Nepal ties, India has almost doubled its financial allocation to Nepal for 2018-19 in its annual Union Budget unveiled on February 01, 2018.

Out of Rs 15, 011 crore budget of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Nepal has been allocated a sum of Rs 650 crore for FY 2018-19 more than the previous year’s value of Rs 375 crore.

“The budgetary increase indicates it is likely to cover the earthquake reconstruction fund that was in the pipeline for some time and was discussed with the Nepalese leaders,” former Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae said in a statement.

The post Indo-Nepal Ties: Bilateral Talks Begin Ahead of New Nepal Government appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

While the date of formation of the new government is yet to be announced, the left alliance came up with some announcements on policies to be implemented under the left-led new Nepali Government (yet to be formed)

In a recent announcement, the left alliance informed that the new Nepali Government will maintain Nepal’s diplomatic relations with neighboring nations based on independent foreign policy.

“As per the directions made by the Nepali Constitution, we will develop the relation with friendly nations, especially the neighboring countries, international unions and organizations, on the basis of independent foreign policy,” the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) said in a statement on December 17, 2017.

In response, a resident of Lumbini said, “I expect a policy that will enhance Nepal’s relationship with neighboring countries India and China. Growth of Nepal is not possible without good relation with India due to geopolitical situation. But in the name of enhancing relation, Nepal should not bow to any other countries.”

These statements by the new Nepali government gain significance in view of recent statements by Nepal’s close bilateral partners on the conclusion of Nepal’s legislative elections 2017.

Nepal Is a Good Friend: Japan

Meanwhile, the Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masashi Ogawa said that Nepal is a good friend to Japan and expressed Japan’s willingness to support Nepal’s development.

“Japan is a good friend of Nepal and it has been providing support to Nepal’s efforts for economic, social, cultural and educational development,” said Ogawa in his address at a recently-held event in Kathmandu.

India Important for Nepal

India also congratulated Nepal on successful completion of its most-awaited parliamentary and provincial elections.

A statement by Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson read about India’s keenness to support Nepal in its all-round development. 

India expressed willingness to work with the newly-elected government with regard to taking ahead its close and multi-faceted ties with Nepal in various sectors.

“The Indo-Nepal ties are not just about government-to-government relations, but about people-to-people ties. India will work with any party that comes to power in Kathmandu. Similarly, the Nepal of PM will work with Delhi irrespective of his ideology. India remains a key factor in Nepal’s politics, society and religion and this fact cannot be ignored,” said a Nepal-focused political expert earlier this month.

US Hopes Responsive Governance

Meanwhile, congratulating Nepal on the conclusion of its historic polls, the United States Government hoped that the recent election would set a stage for new responsive governance in Nepal that stands by rule of law, transparency and inclusivity.

“The election of representatives at all levels of government should set the stage for responsive governance based on the principles of transparency, inclusivity, and rule of law,” read a statement by State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert.

In this regard, Nauert expressed the US Government’s willingness towards working with the new Nepali Government.

The post New Nepali Government Keen on Foreign Policy appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

While 157 of the total 165 House of Representatives seats were announced so far under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election, the leftist alliance alone garnered a total of 106 seats.

Of this, the Communist Parties of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) won the highest number of 74 seats followed by CPN-Maoist Centre (MC) that won 32 seats, informed the Election Commission on December 11, 2017.

With the left alliance moving towards forming majority in the Nepali Parliament, the Communist Alliance is projecting the erstwhile Prime Minister and the communist party leader Khadga Prasad Oli as its Prime Minister candidate.

Oli won from the Jhapa-5 constituency with more than 28,000 votes against the Nepali Congress candidate Khagendra Adhikari. Oli bagged 57,139 votes in total, the highest number of votes secured by any contestant in this election.

CPN Chairman Pushpa Kumar Dahal, another name in PM’s race, got elected to the Federal Parliament from the Chitwan-3 constituency for his win against the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) candidate Bikram Pandey with 48, 276 votes.

Meanwhile, the current Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba registered victory in the Dadeldhura-1 constituency against Khaga Raj Bhatta of CPN with 28, 044 votes.

Rajendra Mahato from Dhanusa-3 constituency with 30, 742 votes, Upendra Yadav from Saptari-2 constituency with 21,620 votes, Gagan Thapa from Kathmandu-4 constituency with 21, 558 votes were among others who got elected to the Nepali Federal Parliament.

With Communist alliance leading the race, experts feel Oli could be the next Prime Minister of Nepal.

“We can expect Oli to lead a stable government with the Maoists as strong allies. Once there is a political stability, he can implement a development agenda and attract foreign investment,” opines Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional expert.

Meanwhile, in Proportional Representation (PR) category, UML stands leading with 936,442 votes, followed by Nepali Congress (NC) in the second position with 878,824 votes and CPN-MC in the third position with 385,434 votes.

The post Nepal General Elections 2017: Oli Likely To be the Next PM appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Apart from interesting aspects like the formation of unexpected political alliances, women and couples’ participation were found to be the other highlights of the Nepali Legislative Elections 2017 drawing huge public attention.

Women in Campaigning

With most of the men staying abroad for work, Dolakha of Province 3 is witnessing a remarkable participation of women in campaigning for the upcoming Nepal general elections.

According to the local leaders, this trend is because of the absence of men in the district.

According to UML’s Parbat Gurung and Nepali Congress (NC)’s Rudra Bahadur Khadka, local First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) candidates contesting for the Federal Parliament, a huge presence of women was being seen in the election activities.

Pashupati Chaulagain, CPN-UML’s FPTP candidate from Dolakha-1 (B), made a Facebook post of his poll campaigning pictures involving women campaigners.

 “We see huge presence of women in these election programmes as there are only a few men and youths left in the villages,” says Kamala Basnet, Deputy Mayor of Bhimeshwar Municipality.

Kalika Pathak, Vice Chairperson of Kalinchok Rural Municipality, says, “In Magapauwa village, the number of women attending an election-related discussion programme was 60, while only 35 males were present.”

However, the women participation was found to be confined to preparing garlands for the leaders and welcoming the guests, and were hardly invited on to the dais for speeches.

Women account for half of the 2.08 million population of Dolakha and the number of women voters are more than men, at 74,016 out of the total 147,878 registered voters of the district.

Women Contestants

The Dang District of Province 5 alone is witnessing eight women candidates in race for the upcoming federal and provincial elections that are scheduled to be held in the district under second phase on December 5, 2017.

According to the Office of Chief Returning Officer, Dang, four women candidates are contesting for three House of Representative seats and a similar number of women are vying for six provincial assembly seats.

Sushila Chaudhary for Nepali Congress, Rekha KC for CPN-UML alliance, KC for the left alliance of UML-CPN alliance are among the eight women candidates.

18 Couples in The Election Fray

Around 18 couples are contesting in Nepal’s general and provincial elections 2017.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba (from Dadeldhura) and his wife Arzoo Deuba Rana (from Kailali-5 constituency) are among the prominent leaders contesting in the FTFP category.

While the former Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar is contesting in the PR category, her husband CPN-MC leader Barsha Man Pun is in race under FPTP from the Rolpa constituency.

Nepali Congress leader Bal Krishna Khand and his wife Manju Khand, UML Vice-Chairman Bam Dev Gautam and his wife Tulasha Thapa, and CPN-MC leader Dev Gurung and his wife Yashoda Subedi are among other prominent couples representing different political parties in the upcoming elections.

Women in Election Counting

Meanwhile, the Election Commission officials are also calling for high women participation in the election counting process.

In this regard, the Chief Election Officer of Chitwan, Kul Prasad Sharma has urged the concerned authorities to recruit women for vote counting in the upcoming elections.

Sharma made this statement at a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Social Cohesion and Democratic Participation Programme organized in Bharatpur, recently.

Sharma added that women folks are most suitable for this task because of their modesty and peaceful nature.

Nepali CNN Hero Anuradha Koirala

Globally-renowned Nepali social activist Anuradha Koirala Joins Race on behalf of Nepali Congress

CNN Hero and the Founder of reputed organization called Maiti Nepal, Anuradha Koirala has entered the election race on behalf of the Nepali Congress (NC).

“That’s why, at a time when constitution implementation has become challenging, I appeal on everyone to vote for NC and end the political stalemate that has gripped the nation for six decades. Everyone should now know that only a NC-led government will ensure the rights of all people,” says Koirala.

Koirala has drawn wide recognition, globally, for her continuous fight against girl trafficking over the past three decades and CNN has also conferred her with the Hero of the Year’ title in 2010.

The post Nepal Legislative Elections 2017: Rise in Women Participation appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-MC have come to an agreement on the ministerial berths to be shared by the two parties in PM Sher Bahadur Deuba’s cabinet. In a meeting held on Tuesday to sort out this issue, PM Deuba, Bimalendra Nidhi and Ramesh Lekhak represented the NC, while CPN-MC was represented by CPN-MC Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Minister for Home Affairs Janardan Sharma and Barshaman Pun. Following this development, the cabinet expansion is likely to happen today.

According to Ramesh Lekhak, Nepali Congress, which heads the ministries of finance, education, and labor and employment, will get 13 new portfolios including Defense, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Information and Communications. CPN-MC will get nine ministries which include Health, Agriculture and General administration among others. The party handles the ministries of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Federal Affairs and Local Development at present.

Bhanu Deuba, the Prime Minister’s Chief Personal Secretary said that both the parties would discuss the constitution amendment with the leaders of Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal before the cabinet expansion.

The post Cabinet Expansion Likely Today appeared first on Nepali Sansar.