KATHMANDU: Foreign employment agencies are all set to elect a new executive committee of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) through its 23rd annual general meeting to be held on Thursday. Three candidates are vying for the top most post of the apex body of manpower agencies.

Kiran Kishor Ghimire, Bimal Dhakal and Saroj Kumar Pokhrel are competing for the post of president. Dhakal represents Nepal Democratic Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs’ Forum that is close to Nepali Congress, while Pokhrel is from Progressive Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs Forum backed by UML. Ghimire had filed his candidacy on behalf of independent foreign employment agencies.

More than 650 voters will cast their vote to elect a 17-member new executive committee from three panels competing in the election. The agenda of all three contenders looks similar, like making migration for work safer and well managed, revising existing laws and scrapping the provision of free visa and ticket for outbound workers to seven major countries.

“If I am given a chance, I will work on cancelling the recently introduced provision of free visa and ticket as it has been implemented without proper preparation,” said Pokhrel. Manpower agencies have been saying that the provision implemented without reaching any agreement with destination countries would cut down the demand for Nepali workers.

In Pokhrel’s panel, Govinda Prasad Thapaliya, Hari Bahadur Pandey Chhetri and Mukti Nath Adhikari have filed their candidacy for the post of first, second and third vice president. Similarly, Roshan Gurung is eyeing the post of general secretary, Rajendra Bhandari (secretary) and Hari Prasad Thapa as treasurer.

Kumud Khanal, Bhuwan Singh Gurung and Bhagirath Rai are the candidates for the posts of first, second and third vice president in Dhakal’s panel. The panel includes Kamal Tamang as general secretary, Binod Jung KC (secretary) and Pratima Maharjan Dhakal (treasurer). This panel is backed by former president of NAFEA, Tilak Ranabhat.

Ghimire’s panel includes Shamsher Bahadur Gurung, Radhika Katuwal, Nawal Kishor Yadav for the posts of first, second and third vice president. From this panel, Sujit Kumar Shrestha is contending for the post of general secretary, Narendra Dhakal (secretary) and Nara Bahadur Pun is competing for the post of treasurer.