We also congratulate NC for adhering to democratic principles by going ahead with the election. This election was long overdue. It should have taken place soon after the Constituent Assembly elections in April last year but was time and again put off on one pretext or the other. The absence of a PP leader led to an unsavory situation on occasions when such a leader’s participation in meetings of important constitutional bodies was needed.
Even this time around, there were attempts to avoid the election in favor of a consensual candidate. Party President Koirala spoke to all the four candidates in the fray to strike consensus but with some of them refusing to withdraw, we believe rightly, the efforts failed. This is only the second time in the entire history of NC when it held election for its parliamentary party leader. We also hope that NC’s general convention will not be put off (as is being suggested from some quarters) and held in August as scheduled.
Political parties in Nepal somehow believe that opting for election for a party post would weaken them. Nothing can be far from the truth. A party thrives only when those who lead it are chosen by party members who have been duly mandated to do so. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) almost avoided the election for the post of its chairman and other posts for the party during its convention in Butwal earlier this year. That attempt by some senior leaders was also defeated.
The Maoist party also comes across very poorly on this front. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been the party’s chief without facing an election since the last general convention. That was some 17 years ago! We hope the demand from the Maoist party leaders and cadres to hold the general convention will not be ignored again.
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