Kathmandu - Nepal's parliament failed to elect a new prime minister on Monday for the third time in less than two weeks, further delaying a peace process that ended a decade-long civil war.
The Himalayan nation has not had an effective government since Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned in June, bowing to pressure from Maoist former rebels trying to return to power and oversee the drafting of a republican constitution.
But in Monday's run-off election, Maoist chief Prachanda, who was prime minister for eight months till May 2009, and Ram Chandra Paudel of the centrist Nepali Congress, failed to win enough votes in the 599-member parliament to form the impoverished nation's third government in less than two years.
They have already failed twice before to muster enough votes and now face a fourth round of voting.
A large number of lawmakers refused to side with either candidate, pressing instead for a leader based on a consensus of all political parties. But that too has proven elusive.
Nepal abolished its 239-year-old monarchy two years ago and became a republic under a peace deal that brought the former Maoist rebels into the mainstream.
But political instability has delayed the drafting of the new constitution and hit South Asia's poorest economy hard.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Rina Chandran) - Reuters