Nepali president calls on parties to claim new coalition government

Kathmandu [Nepal], December 19: Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday called on the political parties to make a claim for a new coalition government within seven days, nearly one month after the country went to the polls.
The president made the call three days after the Election Commission presented her the final report on the general elections held on Nov. 20, in which no single party has won a majority of seats in the federal House of Representatives and the seven provincial assemblies.
"As no party has a comfortable majority, the president has called for any member of the House of Representatives, who can prove a majority with the support of two or more than two parties, to claim the prime minister's position as per Article 76 (2) of the constitution," Sagar Acharya, spokesperson for the President's Office, said in a statement.
"Such a claim has to be made by 5 p.m. on Dec. 25," the statement noted.
The support of 138 lawmakers in the 275-strong House of Representatives is needed to form a new government, and the current ruling alliance led by the Nepali Congress is two seats shy of the majority needed to form a new coalition on its own.
The major parties in Nepal in recent days have been discussing the formation of a new coalition for the next five years.
Source: Xinhua