Expatriate Nepalis living in Australia are currently covered by the election of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA). The fee has been increased so much for those who want to apply for the National Working Committee of NRNA.
According to Raju Upadhyay, a member of the Election Commission, only 3500 Australian dollars (about 3 lakh rupees) will have to be paid to register the candidacy of the president. According to different positions, the candidacy fee is fixed from 200 to 3500 dollars.
2,500 dollars for the vice president, general secretary and treasurer, 2,000 dollars for the secretary and 1,000 dollars for members. Similarly, $2,000 has to be paid to become a State and Territory Coordinator and a Women's Park Coordinator. The fees for Deputy Coordinator and Secretary of State will be $700 and $500 respectively.
Some have criticized the fee as being too expensive, while some have said that it will help raise the organization's operating expenses.
This year's election will be held online on July 10th (July 26). 17 thousand members will vote in the election. Sanjeev Gorkhali from Darwin, Santosh Kunwar from Brisbane and Bhairav Dhakal from Perth have put forward their names among the presidential aspirants.
Controversy continues
The International Coordinating Council has given the responsibility of membership distribution and unity convention to a new committee chaired by Vivek Thapa. The ICC's decision has added confusion when the final preparations for the elections are underway.
Thapa issued a statement accusing NRNA Australia of financial irregularities and favoritism in membership distribution. He said that the session will be held on the basis of inclusive and all-party consensus.
But the current working committee has claimed that the election will be completed on the scheduled date. Conflict between the ICC and the National Executive Committee has left NRNA Australia's leadership selection process in limbo.
