PR lists submitted amid resentments

KATHMANDU, DEC 31 -
Twenty-eight political parties, including the Nepali Congress (NC) and the UCPN (Maoist) submitted their list of candidates under the Proportional Representation ( PR ) as the Election Commission (EC)’s third extended deadline ended on Monday.

The submission of lists followed disputes and serious resentments within all political parties over the handing out of the PR seats. Leaders who did not figure in the final lists alleged their senior leaders of corruption, nepotism and favouritism. Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Nepal and Federal Socialist Party Nepal are the only parties which could not submit their PR lists on Monday.

Officials at the EC said they will endorse the names after verifying the parties’ compliance with the provision of inclusion set in the Interim Constitution and the election law. Any party found to have breached the election law will have three more days to make corrections to their lists.

Asked what the EC would do if the parties submit the lists on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety said they would not accept them but the seats will remain “safe”. “The existing provisions do not envisage such situation,” said Uprety. “We will deal with the issues based on how the situation evolves.”

MJF-N Secretary Ratnesh-wor Lal Kayastha said the party could not finalise the list as there were too many aspirants and too few seats. The party has secured eight seats under the PR .

The deadline for submitting the list was extended for various reasons. One of them being the refusal by 18 of the 30 parties that made it to the new CA to submit the list as they demanded a high-level commission to probe into alleged poll irregularities.

The third extension on December 25  followed request from the major parties after they signed a four-point agreement. Bargaining within the major parties has delayed the PR process. Dissenting voices have surfaced in almost all major parties with some registering notes of dissent, others filing no-confidence motion against party chairman and in other cases entire district chapters offering resignation.

The first meeting of the CA should be called within 21 days of the PR results. Soon afterwards the Cabinet constituted through the CA should nominate the remaining 26 seats to give full shape to the 601-member CA.

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