Kathmandu, January 3:

The Communist Party of Nepal (United-Masal) today announced its independent series of protest programmes aimed at disrupting the municipal election scheduled for February 8.

Addressing a press meet here today, spokesperson of CPN-UM, Chitra Bahadur KC, said that the Central United Struggle Committee had decided on a “United People’s Movement,” a nation-wide programme that will continue till mid-April.

“The polls is a ploy to give authenticity to the autocratic regime; hence the need to boycott it,” the CPN-UM leader said.

The CPN-UM is organising an interaction on January 9 and will launch district-wide training for the preparation of the main programme. District- level meetings are planned for January 18. From January 19 to 24, the party activists will focus on the city-centered boycott activities and will organise awareness programmes in different villages. A strong countrywide municipality-centred boycott movement — to be held from January 26 to February 8 — will follow.