Uncertain of being able to elect a new prime minister yesterday in the third round of an unprecedented, protracted battle for power, Nepal's major parties have agreed to hold a fourth round of election Thursday.
Alarmed by signs that parliament would fail to elect a successor to caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal more than a month after his resignation, the chairman of the house, Subhash Nembang, called an emergency meeting with the chief whips of the three major parties - the Maoists, Nepali Congress (NC) and communists - to decide on a fresh date for a fourth round of election.