Kathmandu, August 11

Due to disputes over selection of convention representatives, the five-member election committee formed to hold election for the new leadership of Nepal Student Union could not publish the voter list today.

The three-day convention had kicked off on August 3, but the Nepali Congress-aligned student body has not been able to hold its closed session, which has already been postponed twice.

As some NSU cadres had been staging hunger strike for the last two weeks demanding lawful convention, NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba had formed a five-member panel headed by NC Central Working

Committee member Prakash Sharan Mahat to resolve the disputes.

Organising a press meet yesterday, Mahat had claimed that the differences between students regarding selection of convention representatives had ended and the election process would begin from today.

The panel had decided to hold the election on August 13, but since the voter list could not be published today, the election for new leadership is likely to be held on August 14.

Chairperson of Democratic Lawyers’ Association Bharat Prasad Kharel, who is also a member of the election committee, said the committee was competent to hold the election of the student union, but since it could not receive the list of convention representatives, it could not begin the voting process today.

“We cannot do anything without receiving the list of voters from the Directive Committee,” he said, adding, “We can begin the voting process tomorrow, if we get the voter list by morning.

However, it’s almost certain now that the polls would be deferred.”

One of the NSU cadres on condition of anonymity said that Kundan Kafle, a candidate for NSU president backed by NC leader Krishna Situala, was trying to foil the convention as there were slim chances of him winning in the election .

“Earlier, they had demanded 215 representatives but as Kafle has slim chances of winning the election, they are not submitting the names of 215 representatives in a bid to halt the voting process,” he said, adding there were chances of clash between student leaders if the situation persisted.