JURIST - Paper Chase: Nepal interim constitution drafting delayed while committee membership set

[JURIST] Nepalese officials have delayed the drafting of an interim constitution, which will allow Maoist rebels to join an interim government, for at least another two weeks, according to Laxman Prasad Aryal, a former Supreme Court Justice and leader of the six-person Nepali Interim Constitution Drafting Committee. The interim government and Maoist rebels negotiated a landmark deal [text; JURIST report] on June 16 to draft a power-sharing constitution within 15 days and dissolve the parliament reinstated by the popular people's uprising [JURIST news archive] against the direct rule of King Gyanendra [official profile] in April.

Aryal said Wednesday that the six-man team has worked on the constitution informally [JURIST report], but has not started a formal drafting procedure [eKantipur.com report] because the interim government has not announced other members of the drafting committee. The interim government reportedly announced plans to add members to the committee, but did not specify who they would add, or how many people. The interim constitution was originally scheduled to be completed by Friday, but will now require two weeks of formal drafting when the government completes the committee membership. AFP has more.

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