The UML made such a proposal as the Maoists and NC remain stuck to their respective stances on the system of governance. While the Maoists are for directly elected presidential system, NC has stood for traditional parliamentary system with the parliament-elect prime minister as the executive head and the president the ceremonial head of the state. [break]
During a meeting between UML and NC at Singha Durbar, UML leaders said they are open to NC´s proposal for “improved parliamentary system” provided that the NC succeeds in bringing the Maoists in its fold. “We asked the NC leaders to either convince the Maoists or accept our proposal,” said UML leader Surendra Pandey, who was also present at the meeting.
During the meeting, NC President Sushil Koirala expressed concern over the possibility of directly elected president turning a dictator. He also said power sharing between the president and the prime minister would invite confrontation between the two.
With just three days left for resolving contentious issues in constitution writing, NC and UML leaders had also deliberated on the issues of federalism, seeking to forge a common ground on the number and names of federal states. “There has been a broad understanding between NC and UML on six to eight federal states in the federal map of the country,” said NC leader Arjun Narasingh KC.
Agreeing that the issue of identity is being grossly misinterpreted, the two parties also stressed the need for broad interpretation of the issue.
According to NC leader Narahari Acharya, the two parties have also agreed that the federal states should not be carved out along ethnic lines. “We tried to forge consensus on the issue of federalism. But we need more time for discussions,” he said.
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