KATHMANDU, Dec 15: The CPN-UML is set to elect its new leadership on Tuesday as voting takes place during the party’s ongoing 11th General Convention, with 42 candidates contesting 19 office-bearer positions.
The contest for party chair is between incumbent KP Sharma Oli and senior vice-chair Ishwar Pokhrel. Both leaders filed their nominations on Monday, according to the Central Election Commission, which released the preliminary list of candidates later in the evening.
Oli is seeking a third term as party chair. He has already served two terms and earlier oversaw amendments to the party statute that removed the two-term limit and the 70-year age cap for the top post. Pokhrel, who has served as senior vice-chair since the 10th general convention, is mounting his first direct challenge for the party leadership.
According to the Central Election Commission, 11 candidates have filed nominations for five vice-chair positions. They are Arun Nepal, Guru Prasad Baral, Gokarna Raj Bista, Tank Prasad Karki, Parshuram Meghi Gurung, Prithvi Subba Gurung, Bhim Prasad Acharya, Raghuji Pant, Ram Bahadur Thapa, Dr Binda Pandey and Bishnu Prasad Paudel.
For the post of general secretary, Shankar Pokhrel and Surendra Prasad Pandey are in the race. Seven candidates have filed nominations for three deputy general secretary positions: Anand Prasad Pokhrel, Yogesh Bhattarai, Raghubir Mahaseth, Rajendra Prasad Gautam, Lekhraj Bhatta, Bishnu Prasad Rimal and Baijnath Chaudhary.
Chairman Oli announces names of UML's office-bearers, Ishwor Po...
Similarly, 20 candidates are contesting for nine secretary positions. They include Agni Prasad Kharel, Indralal Sapkota, Karna Bahadur Thapa, Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Khagaraj Adhikari, Gokul Prasad Baskota, Chhabilal Bishwakarma, Thakur Prasad Gaire, Padma Kumari Aryal, Purushottam Paudel, Pemba Lama, Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, Mahesh Basnet, Yamlal Kandel, Rachana Khadka, Rajan Bhattarai, Lal Babu Pandit, Binod Prasad Dhakal, Sherdhan Rai and Hikmat Kumar Karki.
From the Oli-led establishment faction, nominations have been filed for all 19 office-bearer posts, with Oli finalised as chair. Bishnu Paudel, Ram Bahadur Thapa, Guru Baral, Prithvi Subba Gurung and Pradeep Gyawali have been named for vice-chair positions, although Gyawali has filed his nomination only for central committee membership. Shankar Pokhrel has been finalised as general secretary, while Raghubir Mahaseth, Lekhraj Bhatta and Bishnu Rimal have been nominated for deputy general secretary.
From the faction led by senior vice-chair Pokhrel, Pokhrel himself is contesting the chair, while Surendra Pandey has been finalised as the candidate for general secretary. The Pokhrel camp has fielded Gokarna Bista, Parshuram Meghi Gurung, Binda Pandey and Arun Nepal for vice-chair positions. Yogesh Bhattarai has been finalised for deputy general secretary, with Baijnath Chaudhary also contesting the post.
For secretary, the faction has agreed on the candidacies of Rachana Khadka, Binod Dhakal, Karna Thapa, Thakur Gaire and Indralal Sapkota.
The UML will use 80 electronic voting machines for the election. Although 100 machines have been brought to the convention venue, only 80 will be deployed, said Dr Bijay Subba, chair of the UML Central Election Commission. He said it would take each voter around 25 to 30 minutes to cast a ballot. A total of 2,263 delegates are participating in the general convention.
The nomination process has exposed deep internal fault lines within the UML, particularly among leaders who joined the party from the Maoist Centre and the CPN (Unified Socialist). Several have voiced dissatisfaction after being excluded from key office-bearer and central committee positions by the Oli-led establishment faction.
After Ram Bahadur Thapa was appointed vice-chair, Lekhraj Bhatta was later accommodated as a deputy general secretary. Party leaders say discontent has also grown among senior figures, including Pradeep Gyawali, who was earlier promised the general secretary’s post but ultimately filed his nomination only for central committee membership. Lal Babu Pandit is contesting independently for secretary, while Bhim Acharya has filed his candidacy for vice-chair after being relegated to the central committee.
Agni Kharel of Jhapa, despite being considered close to Oli, has also been sidelined and has filed an independent candidacy for secretary. Ram Kumari Jhankri, who recently broke away from Madhav Nepal, has been limited to a central committee candidacy.
Mahesh Basnet has retained his position as secretary, along with Hikmat Karki and Sherdhan Rai. Bhagirath Sapkota, president of the Federation of Industry and Business, has been excluded and is contesting independently.
Among youth leaders, Suhang Nembang has also been excluded and has filed an independent candidacy. However, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, Lalitpur’s Manjali Shakya Bajracharya and Biratnagar’s Shilpa Karki Nirala have been included in Oli’s team for the first time. Pokhara Metropolitan City Deputy Mayor Manju Gurung has been nominated as a central committee candidate from the Oli faction for a second term.
