Constituent Assembly (CA) Chair Subhas Nembang has postponed the CA meeting until the next notice, paving the way for political parties to resume negotiations on the contentious issues of the new constitution.
On Thursday, shortly after the questionnaire prepared by the Proposal Drafting Committee (PDC) on the constitution's key elements was endorsed, Nembang postponed the CA meeting for an indefinite period. The questionnaire, meant to be voted in the CA, was submitted by the PDC's eldest member Kul Bahadur Gurung.
Contrary to rumors that the CA meeting would be postponed for 10 days, Nembang gave an indefinite period of time for negotiations, the least that the UCPN (Maoist) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal wanted to begin talks with the ruling parties.
The ruling NC-UML and the opposition UCPN (Maoist)-Madhesi Front have not held formal talks over the last two weeks since the setting up of the PDC. The UCPN (Maoist)-Madhesi Front had been demanding either dissolution or suspension of the PDC for resumption of talks.
Hours before the CA meeting on Thursday, Dahal called Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and the UML Chair KP Oli, saying that the opposition will sit for talks again if the CA meeting is postponed indefinitely. This was why Nembang put on hold the CA meeting until the next notice.
Although formal talks are yet to resume, ruling and opposition leaders have been holding informal talks in the last few days. The ice-break was possible after PM Koirala urged the opposition to join talks, calling them fellows of the April Uprising-2006.
By only postponing the CA meeting indefinitely and not promising to hold it only after forging a consensus, the NC and the UML have still had upper hands. They can ask Nembang to call the CA meeting any day if the opposition parties go away from negotiations.