The Nepali Congress has said it is better to elect Speaker of the House of Representatives through consensus among the major parties.

Nominations for the Speaker election are taking place on Friday. The main opposition party is of the view that a neutral position like Speaker’s must be filled through consensus between the ruling and opposition parties. The NC, however, has not staked its claim to the job.

“If the ruling party consults with us seeking consensus on the candidate, we won’t field our candidate,” said NC leader Min Bahadur Bishwakarma. Congress leaders said their priority was to elect the Speaker in consensus. In the speaker’s election held in 2014, the NC did not have its candidate.

The NC said it was awaiting the decision of the ruling parties on Speaker election. “If they forward the name that is acceptable to all, we’re not going to contest the election,” said Bishwakarma.

“If the ruling parties don’t consult with us and present a weak candidate, we’ll select our candidate,” he added. “We  don’t want to contest the election but our move depends on their decision.” As its chances of victory are slim, the NC has not held serious consultations within the party on the candidate. According to leaders, no candidate has come forward in the party as they have no prospects of victory. A Central Working Committee meeting of the NC on Wednesday decided only its presidential candidate.

Since the chances of winning the post are slim, selecting the candidate will not be difficult, said a leader. In the presidential poll, the NC decided to field its candidate voicing displeasure at the CPN-UML decision to repeat President Bidya Devi Bhandari, whose role the NC has raised questions about.