Nepal: CPN-UML’s voting to choose new leader rescheduled for today

Kathmandu: Voting for the election of new leadership of CPN-UML, which was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, has been postponed till Wednesday, officials said.

The voting for the new leader and officer bearers of the party will begin at 8 am on Wednesday, according to party sources.

Outgoing General Secretary Shankar Pokharel said that the voting was postponed due to technical reasons.

UML’s 11th general convention kicked off in Kathmandu on Saturday. Nearly 2,263 general convention representatives participated in it.

Deposed Prime Minister K.P. Oli is contesting for the party’s top post, seeking to get re-elected for the third consecutive term. Vice-chair of the party, Ishwor Pokharel, is challenging Oli for the top post of the party.

Both Oli and Pokharel are contesting the election for the post of chair with their separate panels.

Shanker Pokharel is contesting the election for the post of general secretary from Oli’s team, while Surendra Pandey is contesting the election for the same post from Pokharel’s team.

The UML’s 2,263 voters will exercise their voting rights through voting machines this time.

Both Oli and Pokharel, along with their entire team, were busy campaigning at Bhrikutimandap hall in Kathmandu, where the closed-door session of the party’s general convention is progressing.

There will be a tough fight between Oli, who represents the conservative group within the party and Pokharel, who represents the new generation. There is a sharp difference of opinion between Oli and Pokharel on how they consider the recent Gen Z movement that overthrew Oli’s strong government in September.

UML’s current chair, Oli, has denied taking any responsibility for the mass killing during the Gen Z protests, while Pokharel is of the opinion that Oli, being the head of the then government, must take at least moral responsibility for the incident.

Oli, who does not recognise the Sushila Karki-led government, says he will not appear before the probe commission formed to investigate the suppression of the protest,

whereas Pokharel says as former head of the government, Oli must appear before the commission if it summons him for explanation.