CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the presidential candidate will be ready by Saturday.
Dahal made the comments after holding talks with CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal at Singha Durbar on Thursday. Maoist Center Senior Vice President Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, and Unified Socialist Leader Ghanashyam Bhusal also participated in the meeting.
“The presidential candidate will be finalized on February 25,” Dahal told reporters after the meeting.
According to the electoral calendar, nominations for the presidential election must be submitted on February 25. The election is scheduled for March 9.
Asked if the pre-election coalition is being revived, Dahal said it has not been finalized yet.
The unified socialist president of Nepal told Dahal during the meeting that he should be a presidential candidate.
In response, Dahal told Nepal that he is ready to present him as a presidential candidate, but will have to discuss it with other parties, according to a leader present at the meeting.
Nepal told reporters after the meeting that they currently have different options and are discussing all of them.
When asked if he would run for president, Nepal said the discussion was ongoing.
“We have different options right now, we will choose any of them that will serve the interests of the country,” Nepal said, adding that how the interests of the country will be served is more important than who will become president.
Unified Socialist leader Bhusal said during the meeting that his party’s role must be made clear if the pre-election coalition is to be revived.
Dahal replied that all those issues should be discussed with the Nepali Congress and other parties.
The leaders of four parties that were part of the coalition before the November 20 elections (Nepal Congress, Maoist Center, United Socialist and Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP)) meet on Thursday night.
The meeting was called after the Nepali Congress and the Maoist Center reached an informal agreement on Wednesday night to revive the pre-election coalition with the presidential election.
“The meeting will take place tonight. The place has not been finalized,” said a unified socialist leader.
JSP leaders are scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Dahal before the four-party meeting.
