While Poudel got 61 votes his rival Sher Bahadur Deuba garnered just 48 out of the total 109 votes cast in the second round of the PP election held late evening. Talking to media persons after the election result was out, Poudel said that a democratic exercise in the party had become successful after the election. “No one has lost or won as this is an election to take responsibility of the party,” said Poudel. [break]
He thanked all those supporting him and those taking part in the voting process. “This will help to further consolidate unity in the party as parliamentary party leader is selected through a democratic process,” he further said.Asked if how he would tackle the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Poudel said he would hold dialogue with them to address their demands.
Deuba was not to be seen at the election venue when the election results were out.
This election holds special significance for the NC because it is, among other things, about who will lead the party after Girija Prasad Koirala (GPK). According to the party statute, Koirala cannot contest the post of party president at the next general convention and there is no credible candidate from the Koirala family to step into his shoes.
The PP leadership election outcome, therefore, indicates which faction within the NC will control the party in future.
First round vote
NC senior leader and former prime minister Deuba and party vice-president Poudel had faced off for the top post in the NC´s PP in a second round vote after none of the four candidates -- Deuba, Paudel, Suprabha Ghimire and KB Gurung -- garnered the required number of votes in the first round of election held earlier Saturday. While Deuba got 45 votes his nearest rival Poudel secured 39 out of the total of 109 votes cast by NC parliamentarians during polling held at their PP office at Singha Durbar. Two other candidates in the fray -- Gurung and Ghimire -- got 12 votes each.
One vote was invalid. Party election committee sources said the invalid vote was cast by Poudel himself as he inadvertently placed his tick outside the box.
Officials at the PP election committee said five NC lawmakers did not take part in the election as three of them were out of the country and party President Koirala said he was abstaining from the voting because he didn’t want to favor one candidate against another.
Likewise, another lawmaker, Nilambar Acharya, abstained from the voting saying he was nominated a Constituent Assembly member by the cabinet.
As per the party statute, a candidate for PP leader has to get one vote more than 50 percent of the total vote. This amounts to 58 out of the party’s 114 members in the Constituent Assembly cum Legislature-Parliament.
However, in the second round of voting, a simple majority of members who vote decides the winner. The second round contest is held between the winners of the first and second largest number of votes in the first round, as per a provision in the NC PP statute.
Talking to media persons after the announcement of the election results, Kul Bahadur Gurung said he realized that he has failed to convince lawmakers in his favor. Asked which leader --Deuba or Poudel he would ask his supporters to votes for in the second round, he said, “They should vote as per their conscience.”
Another contender, Suprabha Ghimire, said she won a moral and ideological victory after contesting the election even though she could not win. “I am happy that I have been able to get as big a vote as the party general secretary,” she said, referring to the number of votes secured by Gurung.
The contenders for the post of PP leader had filed their candidacies at 9 a.m. and the voting started at 2 p.m. The voting result was announced after 7 p.m.
While the Deuba faction had pressed to hold the election Sunday, the Poudel faction insisted that it should be held the same evening.
Leaders of both factions had spent over one hour in discussions whether to hold the second round voting the same evening or put it off till Sunday.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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