Links
Anger rising in Nepal amid PM stalemate
With the Nepali public getting increasingly frustrated with its politicians, Nepal's parliament once again failed to elect the country's new prime minister for the 11th time yesterday - after 100 days of political stalemate.
The 12th round of prime ministerial election will be held on Sunday.
Amidst calls by angry members of the public to imprison all lawmakers and force them to pay compensation for playing with the nation's future, the parliament held an 11th round of election but failed, just like the earlier rounds.
The lone contender for the post, former deputy prime minister Ram Chandra Poudel, failed to win the 300 votes required to form a new government. Poudel received only 104 votes, the lowest he has polled so far, while one MP voted against him and 40 stayed neutral.
It was a bleak repetition of the same scenario enacted since the eighth round of elections last month after Poudel's rival, former revolutionary chief of the opposition Maoist party Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, withdrew from the race after failing to win simple majority in the previous seven rounds of the election.
Nepal's political groups have been unable to agree on the shape of the new administration despite a series of votes in the 601-member parliament.
Former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stood down on June 30 because of pressure from the opposition Maoist party.