The nine premierships in nine years stemmed from games of musical chairs between the three main parties – the Nepali Congress and two Communist parties, the United Marxist-Leninists and the Maoists. The Nepali Congress comes lagging way behind with 63 seats. So instead of the chronic instability that has defined Nepal’s landscape, a long-term regime can be expected. This is particularly the case since the UML and Maoists have announced plans to merge into a single party following the elections. The UML has been mainstream since the early 1990s when it played second fiddle to the Nepali Congress in Nepal’s fledgling multi-party democracy.

Source: The Star December 24, 2017 00:00 UTC