The UML, which has made the restoration of the House of Representatives a key issue, is busy with the homework of selecting proportional candidates for the House of Representatives elections. The UML has stated that it is 'screening' the names recommended by the provincial and district committees at the central office.

UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has given the responsibility of selecting proportional candidates to General Secretary Shankar Pokharel. Political parties participating in the House of Representatives will have to submit their closed list of proportional candidates by December 14.

UML has filed a petition with the Supreme Court demanding the restoration of the House of Representatives. Since it is not certain when this writ will be decided, UML has also moved forward with election preparations. UML has mobilized party organizations targeting the election. At the general convention held in the last week of Mangsir, UML had directed its representatives to prepare for the election along with other organizational programs. The Supreme Court has said that ‘it is good if the House of Representatives is restored, but even if it is not, we will go to the election’ and UML has continued its activities.

UML Secretary Bhanubhakta Dhakal said that the party is participating in the Election Commission’s programs because it is committed to democracy. He said that UML has concluded that the House of Representatives should be restored since there is no environment for holding elections. ‘UML will not run away when elections are held,’ he said.

The establishment party has not consulted the office bearers who contested and won by forming a panel under the leadership of the then Senior Vice President Ishwor Pokharel at the general convention. The party has expressed dissatisfaction saying that they were not consulted on the preparation of the proportional list.

Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai said that although he had heard that recommendations for proportional candidates were being sought from the districts, there was no discussion in the party about it. ‘There has been no formal discussion in the party about proportional candidates. I have heard that names of candidates have been sought from district to district,’ he said. ‘In past elections, names were sought after setting criteria in party meetings.’

Bhattarai said that the party could not prepare as expected because it did not decide to go to the elections on time. ‘We had proposed from the beginning to give priority to the elections, but the party leadership did not understand,’ he said. ‘We have to go after the elections are held. It would have been better if the decision had been made to go for the elections on time.’

There is a constitutional provision to elect 110 members to the 275-member House of Representatives through the proportional representation system. UML Election Department Chief Neeraj Acharya informed that about 500 recommendations have been received for proportional representation candidates. ‘A list of 110 people will be screened and submitted to the Election Commission after submitting them.’

UML had instructed to recommend people who are committed to the party’s policy, have continuity in the party’s work, are established in society, are popular, and have a clean image. UML is also preparing to prioritize youth for the proportional representation elections. The central office bearers are preparing to hold a meeting soon to decide on the proportional representation candidates.

After preparing the list of proportional representation candidates, UML will also directly start the process of selecting candidates for 165 constituencies. Since Congress, NCP, National Independent Party and other parties have already decided to go for the elections, there is pressure on UML to make a formal decision. As the election atmosphere is increasing, the expressions of UML leaders have also been positive towards the elections. UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has already said that he will not run in the event of an election.

After Prime Minister Sushila Karki and the three major parties - Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, UML Chairman Oli and Nepali Communist Party Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal - held talks at Sheetal Niwas on Tuesday, doubts about the election have been reduced. The meeting between the government and the top leaders of the three major parties, coordinated by President Ram Chandra Poudel, focused on the election. UML Chairman Oli had drawn Prime Minister Karki's attention by saying that the government itself has limited the position of leaders and has not created an environment for holding party programs.