Nepal, Aug. 15 -- Eighteen days after taking charge as Chief Minister of Karnali Province, Mangal Bahadur Shahi is still running the government without a Cabinet as the ruling coalition remains deadlocked over the distribution of ministries.

Shahi, parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), was appointed Chief Minister with the support of the CPN-UML. However, the two coalition partners have yet to agree on how the six ministries will be divided or who will lead them, leaving Shahi to run the provincial government on his own.

The prolonged deadlock has also complicated the timing of Shahi's vote of confidence. The Chief Minister says both the government formation process and the vote of confidence will be completed ...