UML gears up for provincial, parliamentary polls

Published On: September 16, 2017 01:16 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Sept 15: The main opposition CPN-UML is scheduled to hold the party's central committee meeting next week in the capital to hash out the party's agenda and strategies for the upcoming provincial and parliamentary elections. The party is the first to call meeting targeting the two elections.

The Election Commission (EC) plans to hold the two elections simultaneously in two phases on November 26 and December 7.

UML leaders said that the central committee would review party's performance in the Province 2 local polls results and formulate plans for the next two elections. Poll results of Province 2 are expected to come before the meeting.

UML leaders said that the central leadership would collect suggestions and feedback to bolster the party's performance in the upcoming elections and act accordingly.

"The meeting will reflect on the outcomes of the third phase of the local polls and start preparation for the provincial and parliamentary elections," UML spokesperson Yogesh Bhattarai told Republica.

Like in the local polls, UML hopes to be the largest party in the provincial and parliamentary elections. The party had surpassed expectations by winning the largest number of seats both in the tarai and the plains. Leaders said the party hopes to come in the first or at least second position in the September 18 elections in Province 2.

"We hope to win 70 seats and become the largest party in the province," said Bhattarai. Several UML leaders including party Chairman KP Sharma Oli are currently in the terai for the final leg of the election campaign.

The three-day meeting, which is scheduled to start September 22, will also draft the criteria for selecting the candidates with good prospects.

The provincial and parliamentary elections will elect 165 members for the federal assembly and 330 members for the seven provincial assemblies under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category. The exact numbers of representatives to be elected through the proportional representation system remains unclear.

The EC has already unveiled the elections schedule. As per the schedule, candidates contesting in the first phase of the polls will have to file their candidacies on October 22, while the candidacy nomination for the second phase would take place on November 2.