KATHMANDU, Jan 6: The main opposition party CPN-UML has prepared to contest all 19 seats in the National Assembly member elections. A meeting of the party secretariat held on Friday started preparations for nominations for all 19 seats, expressing dissatisfaction with “the ruling coalition's attempts to confuse and defame the UML with media trials in the name of cooperation in the election.”

The ruling coalition, led by CPN (Maoist Center), advanced discussions to give some of the vacant seats in the National Assembly to the UML on the condition of helping in approving the Transitional Justice (TJ) Bill in the House. Nine UML seats in the National Assembly are going to be vacant.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal wanted to ensure UML support to approve the TJ Bill by providing some seats out of the nine seats to the UML. But the CPN (Unified Socialist) party within the coalition stood against the proposal to allocate seats for the UML in the National Assembly. This disagreement has raised the risk of internal division within the coalition, leading to discussions on seat distribution within the ruling coalition.

After failing to cooperate with the ruling coalition, UML has decided to field candidates for all 19 seats to be elected. The tenure of 20 members of the National Assembly is ending on March 3, 2024 including one nominated by the President and 19 elected members. Elections will be held on January 25 to fill the posts.

The UML has decided to field candidates for all 19 seats in the National Assembly member elections, stating that no informal proposal regarding cooperation has been received from the ruling coalition.

For the past few days, the UML has been discussing with the ruling coalition parties regarding cooperation in the National Assembly elections. After the discussions did not yield positive results, the UML secretariat meeting decided to contest in all vacant seats.

“We asked them to recommend the names of three people in each cluster from the seven provinces. The names have been received. A preliminary discussion was held in the meeting in the name of cluster-wise recommendation; we will finalize the candidates for the 19 seats to be elected by the morning of January 8," UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel said after the Secretariat meeting.

The ruling coalition had expressed commitment to offer three seats to the CPN (Maoist Center) if it helped to approve the TJ Bill. But the UML rejected the offer.

“The conditions are not acceptable to us. At a time when the revivalists are raising their heads, we are only saying that the UML should also be represented in the National Assembly based on the national consensus. "The election does not have any relation with the transitional justice-related bill and the National Assembly, so such conditions will not be applicable in the elections," said Rajendra Gautam, head of the Publicity Department of the CPN (Maoist Center).

“Dissatisfaction has increased because the Maoist Center alone is trying to cooperate with the UML within the ruling coalition. It seems that the Prime Minister is trying to cooperate with the UML without consulting other parties in the ruling alliance. This issue will cause disagreements within the coalition; more than that it will harm the Samajwadi Front, affecting the concept of the Front,'' said Jagannath Khatiwada, head of Publicity Department of CPN (Unified Socialist). According to him, the issue of giving seats to UML is far away, and there is no expectation that the conditions will be fulfilled by the UML.

"Our party does not believe that cooperation with the UML will be implemented," said Khatiwada.

The Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Third Amendment) Bill 2079 BS has been registered in parliament.

"So far, major parties have not reached a consensus on this. The Maoist Center within the ruling coalition had shown an inclination to lure the CPN-UML with the prospect of giving them some seats in the National Assembly through this bill," stated Jagannath Khatiwada.

Prime Minister and Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal along with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli discussed approving the TJ Bill through parliament and providing some seats to the UML in the National Assembly.

Although Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba remained silent on this matter, another group within the NC opposed it. Similarly, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) and CPN (Unified Socialist) Party have also countered the proposal to give some seats to UML.

In the ruling coalition parties' meeting on Thursday, there was a discussion on the UML's demand for six seats in the National Assembly. In that meeting, CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal said that no support should be expected from the UML.

A leader of a ruling coalition party said that after Madhav Kumar Nepal's opposition, the ruling coalition and UML have reached a point of non-cooperation in the National Assembly member election.  

 
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