The party´s standing committee members held separate interactions with the party´s zonal chiefs on Wednesday. The party´s district committees have already proposed alternative candidates from the respective constituencies and districts. The zonal committee has also forwarded the district committees´ recommendations. [break]
The standing committee members talked to the zonal chiefs before preparing a final list of the candidates. “At first, I showed an overall picture and our party´s broader status in my zone,” Rapti Zone in-charge Prakash Jwala told Republica. “Then, I informed the leaders about the strengths as well as weaknesses of every candidate.”
According to him, the zonal heads informed about the proposed candidates´ popularity, efficiency, honesty and knowledge in certain matters.
“Who is the most popular candidate? Whose candidacy would help strike a balance between various ethnic and other local communities?” he quoted leaders as asking during the interaction.
Leaders also urged zonal heads to suggest names that wouldn´t divide UML cadres during the election. “It was basically reporting and updating the top leaders about our respective zones,” said Pashupati Chaulagain, the party´s in-charge of Bagmati zone.
The standing committee held interactions with all the zonal chiefs on Wednesday. Based on inputs received from them, the party secretariat prepared a report. The top leaders will finalize two separate lists of candidates for PR quota and for those who will be fielded under the first-past-the-post electoral system.
After preparing the final lists, the standing committee will present the names at the party´s all-powerful central committee for final approval.“The party will call the central committee meeting for endorsing the candidates´ lists within a week,” said Chaulagain.
UML had earlier issued a circular to the party´s zonal, district and local bodies instructing them to propose candidates with alternative names. Most of the local committees have suggested three names, including at least one woman from each constituency.
In some cases, they have recommended only one candidate in consensus while in some constituencies they have suggested various names due to factional divisions at the local level. As there were many aspirants in some districts, they held elections to nominate top three candidates.
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