Kathmandu - Two of Nepal's main political parties that are part of the ruling alliance have decided not to join the new government led by the Maoists, media reports said Tuesday. The two parties, Nepali Congress and the moderate Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninists (CPN-UML), made their decision following a poor showing in the April elections.
"Nepali Congress will not join the new government led by the Maoists although the party is committed to giving continuity to politics of consensus," Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted Nepali Congress general secretary Bimalendra Nidhi as saying.
'Nepali Congress believes that the consensus should not be for joining the government but for the accomplishment of two main goals of the mass movement - framing a democratic constitution and taking the peace process to its objective," Nidhi said.
CPN-UML had already pulled out of the coalition due to its poor election performance but said Tuesday it would not join the new government led by the Maoists.
"Our major task is to draft a new constitution and take the peace process to conclusion, instead of joining the government," Acting general secretary of CPN-UML Amrit Bohara said.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's Nepali Congress also put forward pre-conditions for supporting the Maoist-led government.
"Support for the future Maoist-led government is dependent on dissolution of the Maoist army along with its people's governments and courts," Nidhi said. "The Maoists also must return properties seized by its cadres from the people during the insurgency.
The Nepali Congress has accused the Maoists of continuing its local government and courts set up during the decade-long insurgency despite pledges to disband them after singing a peace agreement with the government in November 2006.
The Maoists have also been accused of not returning land and property seized from the people.
The decision by the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML came after days of heated debate within the two parties over their future political strategy.
In April's election the Nepali Congress won 110 seats in the constituent assembly, well behind the Maoists who had 220 seats in the 601-seat assembly. CPN-UML won 107 seats.
With the two parties withdrawing, the Maoists now have to seek the support of fringe left-wing parties to form a government, however, they will still fall short of a majority in the assembly.
The constituent assembly's main task is to draft a new constitution and ratify the interim parliament's decision to abolish the monarchy.
The Maoists, who until two years ago were still fighting government forces and branded a terrorist organisation, have been demanding that they should be allowed to form the next government on the basis on the election results.
Formation of the constituent assembly was one of the key demands of the Maoists during their decade-long insurgency, which left nearly 14,000 people dead. 130455
