Nepal's parliament opened a new session Sunday at which it will attempt for a 17th time to elect a new prime minister and halt political deadlock in the Himalayan nation, as AP reported. Speaker Subash Nemwang announced that a vote for prime minister would be held Jan. 12. Lawmakers have failed repeatedly to elect a new leader since Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned last June, bowing to pressure from the opposition Maoist party. The last parliament session ended in November following a brawl over the annual budget. The lone candidate for prime minister, Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress party, needs the support of more than half of the 601 lawmakers to be elected. He has failed to achieve that in the past 16 elections.
