”The Central Committee could not have ignored it. The commission has come to the conclusion that a special general convention should have been called after 40 percent more delegates called for it, explaining the reasons.”
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The Election Commission has declared the special general convention of the Nepali Congress valid and granted legitimacy to the newly elected working committee led by Gagan Kumar Thapa. The decision was taken by a majority of the commission despite the dissent of one commissioner.
Acting Chief Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari and Commissioner Sagun Shumsher Jabra stood in favor of giving legitimacy to the decision of the special general convention as it is the highest body of the party. Commissioner Janaki Kumari Tuladhar, however, registered her disagreement with the decision. According to the commission source, she did not argue anything while expressing her disagreement. “I disagree with this decision,” was all she said.
The commission decided by a majority to update the decision of the special general convention in accordance with the provision in Section 51 of the Political Parties Act to update the party registration book if there is a change in office bearers in the party.
In its decision, the commission has considered the provision in the Constitution 17(2) of the Congress Party to call a special general convention after 40 representatives demanded it as binding. ‘The Central Committee could not have ignored it,’ the source said, ‘The Commission has come to the conclusion that it should have been called after 40 percent more representatives explained the reasons.’ The Commission has considered the special general convention called by the two general secretaries as procedurally correct after the Central Committee did not call it. The Commission’s decision states that since the responsibility of the central office lies with the general secretary, the special general convention called by the two office bearers cannot be said otherwise. The Commission has found the special general convention called by the two general secretaries correct when the central committee did not call it.
Stating that democracy is considered an ideal in the preamble to the Nepali Congress statute, the Commission has said in its decision that everyone should follow democratic values not only in words but also in practice. The Commission has also interpreted the Central Committee’s ignoring of the provision of the statute that allows it to demand a general convention as an attempt to control democratic practice. The Commission has made the provisions in the party’s statute the main basis for its decision. Sources have mentioned that the commission meeting also directed the secretariat to remove the names of the former Sher Bahadur Deuba-led working committee from the records of the Nepali Congress held by the commission and include the names of Gagan Kumar Thapa as the president and other office bearers elected from the general convention.
