Nepal President to address nation

NEPAL: Nepal’s President is expected to call for the formation of a new government in the Himalayan country in his first address to the people Sunday, officials said.

Nepal has been in political limbo since May 28, when a newly-elected assembly that will write a new constitution for the country abolished a 240-year-old monarchy and declared a republic.

“President Ram Baran Yadav will address the nation at 6:00 pm (12:15 GMT) on Sunday,” Ram Hari Aryal, secretary at the presidential office, told AFP.

“He is expected to invite political parties for the formation of the new government during his address.”

The three parties leading a two-year-old peace process — involving the Maoists laying down their arms after a decade of war — have been unable to agree on what Nepal’s first post-royal government should look like.

Yadav has been consulting with party leaders, including the former rebel Maoists and constitutional experts since he was elected Nepal’s first president last week, the presidential secretary said.

The Maoists won over a third of the seats in April elections to a 601-seat constitutional assembly but have been unable to muster a majority to form a government on their own. Kathmandu, Sunday, AFP