The Congress, which is in favor of a special general convention, has informed the Election Commission that a central working committee has been elected under the leadership of Gagan Kumar Thapa. The Congress has also submitted a letter to the Commission for updating the working committee and other decisions made by the general convention in the party registration book.

The office bearers including President Thapa, who was elected from the special general convention, reached the commission on Thursday. President Thapa urged Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari to update the decisions made by the special general convention and the central committee.

He informed that the special general convention was called as per the provisions of Article 17 (2) of the party's statute. 'The statute provides that 40 percent of the general convention delegates must call a special general convention within three months,' he said, 'Therefore, the special general convention was held on 27-30 Poush after completing all the formalities.'

Thapa also informed that the special general convention elected the working committee and made other decisions with more than the quorum specified in Article 46 of the statute for the meeting to be held. He said that all the necessary procedures for updating the party's decisions were completed and the documents were submitted. Thapa also drew the attention of the commission to document the decisions taken at the party general convention as soon as possible, as the House of Representatives elections are approaching and candidacies must be registered on 6th Magh. 

The office bearers had reached the commission after the meeting of the working committee elected from the special general convention was held in Kupandol, Lalitpur. Chairman Thapa had also informed the commission about the decisions taken at the working committee meeting. The meeting had formed an election manifesto writing committee under the leadership of Thapa and an election mobilization committee under the leadership of Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma. A parliamentary board was formed to select the direct candidates. 

After Thapa spoke, Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari asked senior advocate Harihar Dahal, who had reached the commission along with the Congress office bearers, if he had any opinion. In response, Dahal had said that the new leadership was selected as per the party statute.

‘We studied and analyzed the process of the special general convention as lawyers. The party statute envisages a special general convention. The special general convention has been completed without any ambiguity and without any hindrance,' he said, 'Candidates will have to go to the district to register their nominations on 6th Magh. I request the commission to pave the way as soon as possible.'

After Dahal finished speaking, President Thapa submitted the letter from the general convention representative demanding a special general convention in the party, the letters repeatedly requesting the party center to call a special general convention, the letters calling for organizing a special general convention, and the letter containing detailed details of the entire process of the special general convention to Acting Chief Election Commissioner Bhandari.

At that time, another Commissioner Sagun Shumsher Rana and other officials of the commission were also present. Acting Chief Election Commissioner Bhandari, however, did not respond to the Congress office bearers.

After submitting the documents to the commission, President Thapa responded that the details would be updated soon in the commission. 'The party central committee has come new, we have come with a request to update it. We have submitted the documents required to confirm this,' he said, 'This is not a matter related to any dispute between political parties, but a matter to be updated after the general convention is completed. I believe that the Commission will update it within a week even at the latest.'

The special general convention supporters had informed the Election Commission even while the general convention was still ongoing at Bhrikutimandap. Since the Central Working Committee did not seem ready to convene the special general convention demanded according to the party statute, an application was also submitted on 16 Poush to direct the Central Working Committee. According to Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, the Deuba faction has informed the Commission that no program has been held and that action has been taken against three office bearers including Gagan Thapa.

After the special general convention supporters submitted their decisions, an informal discussion was held in the Commission on Wednesday itself. After that, the responsibility of the study has been assigned to the Law Division. ‘The letters received by the commission from the Congress have been studied,’ Election Commissioner Sagun Shumsher Jabra told Kantipur. ‘The commission will try to give a decision as soon as possible after looking at the available evidence.’ 

There are past examples of the commission taking a long time to resolve disputes between political parties. In 2077, the commission did not give a decision for more than two months on the dispute over the legitimacy of the then NCP. The dispute was settled after the Supreme Court ordered the NCP to remain united (UML and Maoist Center will remain). 

Former Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel says that the commission does not have the same facilities as before. ‘This is not a normal situation. There has been a major dispute within the party on the eve of the election. We should not go into the election by keeping this in suspense,’ he told Kantipur. ‘The commission should give a decision immediately based on the available evidence, the party’s statutes, statutes, and rules.’ He says that since this is not a matter of party division, it is not necessary to complete the long process mentioned in the act. 

Section 51 of the Political Parties Act stipulates that the party must inform the Commission of any changes or amendments to its name, statute, rules, seal, flag or symbol, changes in office bearers and other matters as specified by the Commission within 30 days. According to the same section, Thapa informed the Commission about the selection of a new working committee.

The Commission has a provision to update the information sent by the party for such updating in the party registration book as prescribed if it is found to be in accordance with the constitution, act, rules and party statute. There is no time limit for that. If the Commission finds the decision made by the special general convention party correct, it can immediately record it. 

‘In normal circumstances, there is no problem in updating the decisions made by the party’s general convention or central committee,’ said an official from the political parties and law division of the Commission, ‘but here the entire party is not in one place. One party has sent the decision of the special general convention, while the other party has provided the decisions of the central committee. That is why the commission has to examine and decide.’ 

Another former Chief Election Commissioner, Neelkanth Upreti, said that the commission should be sensitive and find a way to resolve the dispute of a big party only 4/5 days before the candidacy registration. ‘The election is here. Time is very short,’ he said, ‘Was the method and process for the general convention completed or not? What is in the act, rules and the party’s statute? What are the past precedents? The commission should look at everything and make a decision.’ Upreti says that if the commission is unable to decide before the day of filing the candidacy, the election schedule may be changed. 

There has been repeated correspondence since December 16

The Congress Central Working Committee had issued a statement on December 15 stating that the rationale for the special general convention had ended. After the regular general convention was also postponed to April, the then general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma issued a statement with a different opinion. Within a few days, they called for a special general convention. With that, correspondence began with the Election Commission in the name of Manoj Mani Acharya, the special general convention advocate. 

Acharya had sent a letter to the Election Commission on 16 Pus. According to advocate Pratap Poudel, who was involved in the correspondence with the Commission from the beginning, in the initial letter, it was informed that the decision of the working committee regarding the special general convention was wrong. ‘In the first letter, it was demanded that the central working committee be instructed to hold a special general convention, saying that there was a mandatory provision in the party statute to call a special general convention,’ Poudel said. ‘We had also informed that the special general convention would be held in Kathmandu on 27 and 28 Pus, and that the party’s policy and leadership would change as a result.’ 

Poudel also said that after the special general convention was concluded, the changes made in the statute, leadership and policy were brought to the Commission and updated in accordance with Section 51 of the Political Parties Act. The special general convention advocates sent the second letter to the Commission on 25 Pus. The letter requested the Commission to come as an observer to the special general convention. 

A third letter was sent to the Commission on December 29, the third day after the inauguration of the second special general convention at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu. ‘The special general convention was inaugurated on December 27. The closed session passed the special general convention procedure on December 28. Based on that, reports and proposals have been submitted and are in the process of group discussions. Since the leadership election process has also progressed, we will inform the Election Commission in advance to update it after this process is completed,’ the third letter said. ‘We request that if any other letter, information or information is received in the name of the Congress while the special general convention is underway, it should not be recognized.’