Leaders have said that the decision on whether to hold a regular or special general convention will be made at the central committee meeting starting Thursday.
What you should know
A special general convention has been demanded in the Congress, stating that an immediate reorganization within the party is necessary to address the issues raised by the Gen-G movement. The demand for a special general convention has been made on the initiative of the youth leaders of the Congress, with the signatures of 54 percent of the general convention delegates, as per Article 17 (1) of the constitution.
On behalf of the general convention delegates, young leaders Gururaj Ghimire, Devraj Chalise, Surendra Prasad Chaudhary, Subash Kumar Pokharel, Ujjwal Baral, Ramesh Prasad Dhamala, Dikpal Shahi, Bharat Khadka and 17 others have reached the party central office in Sanepa and registered a petition for a special general convention.
They have submitted a letter to Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka explaining the reasons for calling a special general convention and a list of signatures of the general convention delegates to the party central office's Chief Secretary Krishna Poudel. They say that the limited decisions of the Central Working Committee are insufficient for in-depth discussion and self-review of the party's policy, leadership and structure, so a regular or special general convention is the only option at present.
The number of delegates to the 14th general convention in the Congress is 4,743. Of these, 128 have passed away or left the party. Leader Gururaj Ghimire said that the number of signatories demanding a special general convention has reached 2,488. In this way, 53.91 percent of the total general convention delegates have signed for the special general convention. Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected with 60 percent of the votes in the 14th general convention held in Mangsir, 2079. Deuba's competitor at that time, Shekhar Koirala, received 40 percent of the votes.
Despite the opposition of the president and his supporters, the majority of delegates have signed in favor of the special general convention. Deuba has taken a break from his executive role before the application for the special general convention was registered. Addressing the central working committee meeting on Tuesday, he decided to give the responsibility of acting president to Vice President Khadka. Deuba also drew the attention of the acting president to hold the general convention within the specified time.
General Secretary Bishwaprakash Sharma said that President Deuba left the executive role and addressed the voice of the times in the background of the majority of representatives standing in favor of the special general convention. Sharma said that after Deuba's departure, the responsibility of reforming the party with moderation and unity in the new situation and moving forward with maturity has fallen on their shoulders.
'The legitimate demands of the Gen-G protests should be addressed, even after being physically attacked, President Sher Bahadur Deuba said wholeheartedly and without any emotion, 'We should rise above personal or group differences and find the way forward.' There was and is a majority in the working committee. But he gave the acting president and left, leaving us all to face the test of the upcoming journey,' Sharma said, 'I sincerely respect this act of addressing the voice of the times. We must now unite in a new way, internalizing this act. We must now have the maturity to handle the responsibility of reaffirming economic credibility in history with moderation and unity.'
There are two procedures in the Congress statute for calling a special general convention. One is that the Central Working Committee itself can call a special general convention if it deems it necessary. The other is that forty percent of the general convention delegates can initiate the process through signatures. There is a mandatory provision in the statute that a special general convention must be called within three months if a demand for a special general convention is made with forty percent signatures.
There is a provision in the statute that a special general convention can be called if any unusual or extraordinary situation arises in the country. Leader Ghimire said that a special general convention can be called especially if the time for a regular general convention has not passed or if it is not possible to hold a regular general convention immediately. A special general convention is not considered a continuation of the regular general convention but is a temporary arrangement for a short period of time.
The Congress had done this practice in 2014 as well. In 2012, Suvarna Shumsher Rana was elected as the President of the Congress from the sixth convention. Two years later, the Congress held a special general convention and made BP Koirala the President. The special general convention can amend the policy and program and it can elect the party's central working committee. However, it cannot elect lower-level committees.
With the application for a special general convention signed by 54 percent of the delegates, the countdown to holding a general convention within three months has begun from Wednesday. Even though the application for a special general convention has been registered, the central working committee also has the facility to hold a regular general convention at this time. While the term of lower-level committees has almost expired, the term of the central working committee is ending on Mangsir 21.
'Our history of holding general conventions in a short time in the past confirms that this is possible. If this is not possible, we would like to request that a special general convention be called in accordance with Article 17(2) to address the current difficult situation,' the letter addressed to Acting President Khadka states, 'In the special political situation, a special general convention is necessary to strengthen the Nepali Congress, formulate policies in line with public sentiment, establish leadership with new energy, and rebuild the party in line with democratic sentiment. We strongly demand that a special general convention be called in accordance with Article 17(2) of the statute and decisions be taken on these issues through the broad participation of the general convention delegates.'
The Central Working Committee also has the option of holding a regular general convention instead of a special one in Mangsir. If a regular general convention is held instead of a special one, it will provide an opportunity to restructure the eight-level structure from the ward to the central level, and it will also provide an opportunity to increase the representation of the Gen-G generation at the bottom.
The issue of regular or special general convention will be decided through discussions at the Central Working Committee meeting starting Thursday, said central member Madhu Acharya. He mentioned that the special general convention should seriously review the current political crisis and take decisions to reform the party structure through the election of the Central Working Committee, timely policy formulation and amendment of the statute.
The campaigners of the special general convention believe that the general convention is needed to address the public expectations and demands of the young generation expressed by the Gen-G movement of Bhadra 23-24, to make the party relevant and strong, and to reform its policies and structure to face contemporary challenges.
‘At the height of the Gen-G movement, an interim government has been formed, the parliament has been dissolved and general elections have been announced on Falgun 21. In such extraordinary circumstances, the Nepali Congress must shoulder its historic responsibility as the leader of democracy and the constitution. Regular activities alone cannot deal with this crisis. Strong leadership, timely policies and far-reaching decisions are necessary,' they say, 'How can we escape this responsibility? If we miss this historic opportunity, the Nepali Congress will fall behind.'
Although President Deuba urged to hold a regular general convention within the stipulated time, young leaders say that a special general convention was demanded due to the provision in the statute to extend the term by one more year.
'There is no certainty whether the regular general convention will be held within Mangsir or not. If it is regular, it is fine. If it cannot be held, we have submitted a petition with signatures today that a special general convention should be called. The countdown for this process began on Wednesday,' says young leader Dilliram Subedi, 'We are confident that the Central Working Committee will implement it by listening to the voices and feelings of 54 percent of the general convention delegates.'
