The four major parties have handed PM Baburam Bhattarai a last-attempt responsibility to convince Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi that he should head the electoral government.

A meeting between the ruling alliance and the opposition on Sunday evening came to such a conclusion after Regmi refused to meet the leaders on Sunday morning saying there was no point in discussions until everything was finalised.

After the meeting, UML leader Bhim Rawal said that the parties would meet again on Monday afternoon once the PM had held consultations with CJ Regmi. Rawal also said that other alternatives would be explored if the PM’s attempt was unsuccessful.

Last week, Regmi told party leaders he wouldn’t sign up to any deal that came with strings attached. There is strong resistance to the CJ’s leadership of the electoral government amongst the opposition and the fringe parties, while there have been debates over the constitutional legitimacy of such a move.

Responding to a writ petition on Sunday, the Supreme Court asked the leaders to come up with explanations about their agreement. The Nepal Bar Association also made statements against the idea of merging the judiciary and the executive in the absence of a legislative.

Although the parties have recently found rare common ground regarding who should lead the electoral government, they still have not discussed details of the polls, and the government has not appointed commissioners at the Election Commission either.