Elections have been held in 20 districts where there has been no consensus on the selection of representatives for the 11th General Convention of the CPN-UML to be held from 10-12 December. But less than 50 percent of organized members have participated in the voting. In Dhanusha-2 in Madhesh, out of 14,000 organized members, only 160 votes were cast. In Kathmandu and Lalitpur in the Sugam Sthal Valley, less than 50 percent of the votes were cast.

In Lalitpur-1, only 1,286 out of 2,306 organized members voted. In Lalitpur-2, 706 people participated in the voting, even though there were 1,538 members. In Lalitpur-3, the participation of organized members was only half, out of 1,398 members, only 723 voted.

Lalitpur UML President Purushottam Acharya says, ‘There was a low participation of members in the voting because of the efforts to reach a consensus.’ 4 women, 3 youths under the age of 40, and 1 Dalit representative have been elected to the general convention from Lalitpur.

48 representatives have been selected from Kathmandu. 48 UML general convention representatives have been elected from Kathmandu, including 4 in Kathmandu-1, 5 in Kathmandu-2, 5 in Kathmandu-3, 5 in Kathmandu-4, 4 in Kathmandu-5, 5 in Kathmandu-6, 5 in Kathmandu-7, 4 in Kathmandu-8, 5 in Kathmandu-9, 5 in Kathmandu-10 and one Dalit. Out of the 48 representatives, 15 are women, 10 are youths under 40 years of age and one is a Dalit.

Elections were held in Kathmandu except for constituency-10 to elect UML general convention representatives. ‘Up to 50 percent of the votes were cast in the 9 constituencies in Kathmandu where elections were held for general convention representatives,’ says UML Kathmandu President Deepak Niraula, ‘There was a delay in trying to reach a consensus, so the number of members could not increase in the voting.’

Elections were also held in Makawanpur-1 to elect UML general convention representatives. Out of 4,109 organized member voters, 1,547 voted. Eight people, including three women and youth, were elected from the election.

In Jhapa, the home district of party chairman KP Sharma Oli, only about half of the 18,336 organized members voted. According to district chairman Prem Giri, only about 56 percent of members participated in the voting in Jhapa.

The situation was similar in Morang, where non-Oli groups are considered influential within the UML. District secretary Somraj Thapa said that in Morang, which has 23,178 organized members, only about 55 percent of members voted to elect a general convention representative.

The situation in Dhankuta, which has come under controversy, was no different. Out of 8,236 voters, only 4,688 voted, which shows a participation rate of about 57 percent.

In Sunsari, the UML district committee has stated that about 7,000 out of 11,500 organized members voted. It seems that about 60 percent of organized members participated in the voting here.

In some local levels including Jhapa, Morang, and Dhankuta, problems were seen from voting to the counting process after the dispute escalated. Local leaders have commented that the time it took for voters to line up at some polling stations, weaknesses in list management, and both sides strictly adopting their respective strategies due to factionalism have also made the environment complicated.

‘The fact that only about half of the members are participating is an indication that the enthusiasm of the members towards the general convention representative selection process is relatively low,’ said a UML provincial committee member. According to him, the dissatisfied leadership, the activities of subgroups at the local level, and the power balance within the organization have also affected the morale of the voters.

Similarly, elections were held in three districts of Madhesh, Dhanusha, Mahottari and Siraha to select representatives in one constituency each. In Dhanusha-2, out of 14,000 members, only 160 members voted. Out of 19 representatives, 6 women and one youth under the age of 40 were elected.

Elections were held in Mahottari-1 and 4 to select representatives. Out of 6,010 voters in Mahottari-1, only 896 votes were cast. Similarly, in constituency number 4, only 3,707 out of 12,852 members voted. In Siraha-1, only 1,562 out of 3,200 members participated in the voting. Siraha UML Vice President Naveen Yadav said that due to the delay in making a unanimous decision, the expected number of members and voters could not participate.

Elections were held in Gorkha, Lamjung and Tanahun of Gandaki to select general convention representatives. In Tanahun-1, about 50 percent of the votes were cast and in Lamjung, 20 percent. Out of 5,473 organized members of UML in Lamjung, only 1,916 votes were cast. 1,693 votes were cast for the open and 223 votes were cast for the Dalit. Out of 2,355 voters in Tanahun-1, 1,166 votes were cast. In Gorkha-1, only 497 out of 1,200 organized members voted. In Karnali, voting was held only in Rukum West to elect UML general convention representatives. Out of 2,065 organized members in Rukum West, only 354 voted. This is only 17 percent participation. In Lumbini, only about 50 percent of the organized members of UML participated in the districts where voting took place. According to UML Lumbini President Radhakrishna Kandel, representatives were selected through elections in two constituencies of Lumbini: Arghakhanchi, Palpa, West Nawalparasi and Rupandehi.

Out of 2,630 members in Rupandehi-1, only 1,405 votes were cast. In Rupandehi-2, 1,978 out of 6,052 members voted. Six members were elected from Rupandehi-1 and 10 from Rupandehi-2.

There were 7,833 organized members in Arghakhanchi. Of these, 1,227 votes were deducted from the Dalit cluster to prepare a list of 6,606 voters for the open representative selection. However, only 3,649 of them cast their votes.

Arghakhanchi President Pitambar Bhusal says, ‘First, there are a large number of party members outside the region in Kapilvastu, Butwal, Kathmandu, and secondly, there were religious functions such as marriage vows and family worship on the same day, so the turnout was low.’ 13 representatives have been elected from Arghakhanchi.

Similarly, in Palpa-1, out of 3,500 members, 457 voted, and in Palpa-2, out of 3,100 members, only 805 voted. UML President Om Bahadur Gharti said that only close organized members participated in the election process.

Similarly, in Nawalpur-1, out of 3,742 organized members, only 1,845 voted. In Nawalpur-2, out of 3,342 members, only 1,308 voted. According to UML Lumbini Province President Kandel, 190 general convention representatives have been selected from 82,135 members in Lumbini Province. He said that representatives were elected unopposed from eight districts.

UML general convention representatives have been selected through voting in five out of 16 constituencies in the Far West.

Only 504 votes were cast in Kailali-1 out of 1,350 members. In Kailali-4, only 882 out of 3,139 organized members voted. In Kailali-5, only 1,158 votes were cast in Kailali-5 out of 3,843 voters. Kailali District Committee Deputy Secretary Chudamani Bhatta says that the low turnout was due to the fact that most of the organized members are outside the district and some lack enthusiasm.

In Kanchanpur-1, 1,60 out of 2,087 members voted. In Kanchanpur-3, out of 1,382 voters, only 816 votes were cast.

'Organized members' affection for the party is decreasing'

Even though the party conference is considered a political celebration, the low attendance of the party's organized members in the selection of UML general convention representatives is a sign of decreasing affection for the party, political scientists have commented.

'The low participation of organized members of the party in selecting the general convention representatives is a political message that affection and interest in the party is decreasing,' says political science professor Krishna Pokharel. 'It would be a different matter if there were general elections. Close to 100 percent votes should have been cast to select representatives for the general convention. Only 50 percent votes from organized members at most is a sign of waning trust in the party.'

He said that even though the general convention is a celebration in the life of the party, not coming to vote is a clear sign of decreasing trust in the party. ‘It is a sign that the trust of its own members in the old parties is decreasing after the Gen-G movement,’ he said.