KATHMANDU, Feb 23: Counting of ballots at the eighth general convention of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) began at about 10:40 a.m., 13 hours after 1783 delegates cast their ballots to elect eight office bearers and 115-member central committee, according to a member of the party’s election committee. It will take at least six hours before the results are out.
UML leaders had said the counting would begin at 7 a.m. However, it was delayed because "some rules" needed to be passed before the counting started. Voting had closed at about 10 p.m. Sunday night, five hours after it was opened. The voting itself, which was to begin at 8 a.m. according to the initial plans, had been delayed by about nine hours. [break]
There were 112 polling units set up at the Butwal Mandap and nine queues had been formed to speed up the process. Each of 1820 delegates took at least 15 minutes to cast their ballots.
Jhala Nath Khanal and K P Sharma Oli, the candidates for the top post, had given brief speeches about their future strategies in the afternoon.
"My priority will be to consolidate democracy, social transformation, state restructuring and write a new constitution of the country," Oli said.He said the UML, after the convention would adopt clear policy, take clear stand on every issue and go ahead with a clear roadmap.
When asked if there will be any change in the present coalition government, Oli, who is regarded as a vocal critic of the Maoists, said he will work to form a government of national consensus by including Nepali Congress also. "UML or any other party that gains trust of the parties will lead the future government," he said.
Likewise, giving a snapshot of his future strategy, Khanal said he would restructure the party after the convention. He said he is against the status quoists and extremists.
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