A meeting of the top political body suggested to the interim government to nominate Ram Bhakta PB Thakur and Ila Sharma as commissioners of the Election Commission.[break]
The parties have already reached an understanding on reappointing the recently retired commissioners Neelkantha Uprety, Dolakh Bahadur Gurung and Ayodhee Prasad Yadav. As per the leaders´ understanding, Uprety, who worked as acting chief election commissioner for long, will be appointed as the chief election commissioner.
Nepali Congress (NC) Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel said the meeting mainly discussed appointment of election commissioners, stating “we wanted to create an environment for polls with top priority”.
The parties had earlier this week recommended Lok Man Singh Karki, Kayodevi Yami and Bhanu Acharya as the chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Public Service Commission and Office of the Auditor General respectively. But, the parties´ decision to appoint Karki as the chief commissioner at the CIAA has been widely criticized.
Leaders in the high-level political committee meeting. (Photo: Bhaswor Ojha)
The Rayamajhi commission formed to investigate into the atrocities committed during the people´s movement in 2006 found Karki guilty of suppressing the people´s movement. Karki was the chief secretary during former King Gyanendra´s regime when the popular movement had reached its peak.
The appointment will come into effect only after President Ram Baran Yadav endorses the recommendation.
Meanwhile, a standing committee meeting of CPN-UML decided to entrust the party´s top three leaders -- Chairman Jhalanath Khanal, Madhav Kumar Nepal and KP Sharma Oli -- with representing the party in the high-level political committee, which is mandated to guide the interim election government into taking crucial decisions.
Top leaders from UCPN (Maoist), NC, CPN-UML and United Democratic Madhesi Front will be represented in the top political body and head it on a rotational basis.
UML leader Nepal, who opposed the proposal on CJ-led government, has been boycotting all the inter-party talks and remained absent even in the process of appointing the chief justice as the chairman of the Interim Election Council.
However, UML leaders said they decided to send him to the high-level political committee only after taking his consent.
UML Secretary Shankar Pokharel said they took the decision because Nepal is ready to join the top political body despite his reservations over the proposal on forming CJ-led government.
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