Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, 2008
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Girija Prasad Koirala
Nepali Congress
Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
A general election for the Constituent Assembly was held in Nepal on 10 April 2008 after having been postponed from earlier dates of 7 June 2007 and 22 November 2007. The Nepalese Constituent Assembly will draft a new constitution; it will therefore decide, amongst other things, on the issue of federalism. The number of eligible voters was around 17.5 million. The Constituent Assembly will have a term of two years.
The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), or CPN (M), placed first in the election with 220 out of 575 elected seats, and became the largest party in the Constituent Assembly. It was followed by the Nepali Congress with 110 seats and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) with 103 seats. After months of power-sharing discussions and deliberations, CPN (M) Chairman Prachanda was elected as Prime Minister in August 2008. Due to its failure in drafting a new constitution, the CA was dissolved on 28 May 2012 after its original and extended total tenure of 4 years.
The Election Constituency Delimitation Commission recommended the following number and distribution of seats: 335 members would be elected through a proportionate electoral system, 240 members through election in constituencies and 17 on recommendation by the Council of Ministers.
The first delay for holding the assembly occurred due to the lack of preparation on behalf of the Election Commission as well as the seven parties that were at the helm of the government. The second delay, on 5 October 2007, occurred because the Maoists demanded that a republic be declared before the election and that a fully proportional system be used in the election instead of a mixed system. A compromise was agreed to on 4 November: the election would use a fully proportional system, but the republic would only be declared immediately after the Constituent Assembly election.
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