The fifth round of elections for the post of prime minister has been scheduled for 23 August at 3 pm. The date was decided by the Business Advisory Committee of parliament. A meeting of party whips on Tuesday agreed to postpone the election till next week.

The UCPN (Maoist) proposed deferring parliamentary voting, scheduled for Wednesday, as a mark of respect for deceased CA member Ram Kumari Yadav. Parliament passed a condolence resolution and observed one minute of silence to pay tribute to Yadav. Parliament was then adjourned, as it is customary in parliamentary practice to not enter into regular business after passing a condolence resolution.

It is expected that the parties will use the time before the fifth election to build an environment for political consensus. Both candidates, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and NC Vice President Ram Chandra Poudel, have failed to secure a simple majority in the past four rounds of voting to lead the new government.