11/29/2012 02:17 GMT
by Deepak Adhikari
KATHMANDU, Nov 29, 2012 (AFP) - Nepal's Maoists faced a race against time on Thursday to meet a deadline to form a national unity government with opposition parties, end political turmoil and steer the country towards elections.
Nepal has been run by a caretaker Maoist-led government since the collapse in May of an interim assembly that had failed in its main task of drawing up a new constitution following a 10-year civil war that ended in 2006.
The Maoists were expected to take part in a string of meetings Thursday with opposition parties in Kathmandu in a last-ditch attempt to break the political deadlock before the deadline expires.
The impoverished Himalayan nation, tucked between giant China and India, has been plagued by instability since the Maoist insurgency ended and the monarchy was abolished in 2008.
The introduction of a republican constitution was a key condition of a 2006 peace deal that ended the conflict in which more than 16,000 were killed.
President Ram Baran Yadav, whose role as head of state is normally ceremonial, has set a Thursday deadline for the parties to agree on the make-up of a unity government to lead Nepal into polls for a new parliament set for April or May next year.
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai hopes to name a cabinet that includes members of his Maoist party and others from the opposition Nepali Congress and Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) parties as well as smaller regional groups.
But talks between the main parties have been stalled over who should lead the new administration, with the opposition blocs publicly rejecting the idea of a Bhattarai-led government.
"I don't think we will be able to find a way out by Thursday. Our party has already decided not to hand over the leadership of a cross-party government to the Nepali Congress (NC)," Maoist spokesman Agni Sapkota told AFP.
"We took the decision because the NC couldn't ensure the political achievements of the past would be incorporated into the constitution," he said.
"The prime minister won't resign unless there's an agreement on the core issues of the constitution," he added.
Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has offered the NC and UML a pick of top cabinet posts to bring them on board but analysts say they are unlikely to take the bait -- meaning the president will probably have to extend the deadline.
"The most likely scenario is that Bhattarai will continue to be prime minister while trying to transform this administration into a cross-party one," political commentator Raja Ram Gautam told AFP.
Another option for the president would be to dismiss the Maoist caretaker administration and take over the role of ruling Nepal himself up to the elections -- although this is seen by all sides as an unwelcome last resort.
"If he does (this), bid goodbye to the 2006 framework and prepare for a protracted political confrontation," analyst Prashant Jha said in a commentary for the Kathmandu Post.
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