KATHMANDU, Nov 1: Acting on complaints, the Election Commission (EC) has instructed seven candidates under the proportional representation electoral system to defend their eligibility for contesting the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) elections scheduled for November 19.
Issuing a notice, the constitutional body has asked them to appear before the commission in person on Saturday morning with necessary defense against the complaints lodged at its central office. [break]
The EC has received complaints against five UCPN (Maoist) candidates -- Bal Krishna Dhungel, Anita Kumari Pariyar, Dhana Maya BK Khanal, Hari Ram Shreepali and Usha Sah Fakeer.
Similarly, complaints have been lodged at the commission against Samajbadi Janata Party candidate Rita Thapa Magar and Bimala Laxmi Shah of League Nepal Shanti Ekata Party.
Ram Kumari Jhakri of CPN-UML had filed complaint against Dhungel. She has demanded that the EC scrap Dhungel´s candidacy stating that he is convicted of criminal offense by the court.
Radheshyam Bishwakarma of Bishwa Satyabadi Party has filed separate complaints against Pariyar and BK Khanal. Biswhakarma in his complaints has said that they are incumbent members of the National Dalit Commission and should not be made PR candidates.
Likewise, Laila Kumari Gahatraj of Samajbadi Janata Party has filed complaint against candidate of the same party Magar. She has claimed that Magar is married to an Indian national and has dual citizenship.
Sangita Tamang of Jana Jagaran Party has lodged complaint against UCPN (Maoist) candidate Shreepali. Shreepali is accused of enjoying perks from two offices.
Hira Chandra Chaulagain of League Nepal Shanti Ekata Party has filed complaint against the candidate of the same party Shah. Chaulagain has accused Shah of possessing dual citizenship and being involved in fraudulent activities.
Also, Mohammad Zakir Hussein of UCPN (Maoist) has lodged complaint against the candidate of the same party Fakeer. Hussein in his complaint has stated that Fakeer is incumbent member of the National Muslim Commission and not qualified to be a PR candidate.
According to knowledgeable sources at the EC, candidacy of Dhungel will be annulled on prima facie basis as his candidacy is clearly against the existing law and against the verdict of the Supreme Court (SC).
Clause 19 (e) of the ordinance regarding election of members of the Constituent Assembly (CA) states that anyone sentenced to life imprisonment or life with property attachment by a final verdict of the court will be disqualified from contesting elections.
Similarly, the apex court in September had ruled that a murder convict cannot constest the CA polls. The SC back in 2001 had upheld an order of Okhaldhunga District Court and convicted Dhungel of murdering Ujjan Kumar Shrestha.
When asked about the fate of Pariyar and BK Khanal, the source said, "If it is found that they had not resigned their National Dalit Commission posts before the submission of closed lists of PR candidates by the political parties concerned, their candidacies can be scrapped."
As per article 65 (d) of the interim constitution, a person must not be holding any office of profit in order to become a member of the CA.
A source at the National Dalit Commission told Republica on Friday that Pariyar and BK Khanal submitted their respective resignation letters only after the EC published closed lists of PR candidates.
However, member secretary of the National Dalit Commission Bhuwan Sunar claimed that Pariyar and BK Khanal submitted their resignation letters before the EC published the closed lists of PR candidates.
"We have already forwarded their resignation letters to the ministry of federal affairs," added Sunar.
Apart from Pariyar and BK Khanal, the UCPN (Maoist) has also accommodated Shambhu Paswan in its closed list of PR candidates. Paswan is also incumbent member of the National Dalit Commission. However, the EC has not received any complaint against candidacy of Paswan.
Meanwhile, UCPN (Maoist) candidates under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system Khem Raj Nepali and Raju Prasad Harijan are also incumbent members of the National Dalit Commission.
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