Move afoot to challenge poll panel’s decision to register NCP (NCP)

Proportional representation of women in all organs of the state is crucial to empower women, but more worrisome is the fact that the prime minister and ruling party co-chairpersons are openly defying the legal provisions

  • Indu Tuladhar, Advocate and rights lawyerHimalayan News Service

Kathmandu, June 7

A group of lawyers is mulling over the option of challenging the Election Commission’s decision to register Nepal Communist Party (NCP) without the party ensuring 33 per cent representation of women in the central committee as mandated by the Political Party Registration Act.

Advocate and rights lawyer Indu Tuladhar said she and other lawyers were dwelling on how to challenge the EC’s decision in the court.

“Proportional representation of women in all organs of the state is crucial to empower women, but more worrisome is the fact that the prime minister of the country and co-chairpersons of the ruling party are openly defying the legal provisions,” she told THT.

She said Nepali people fought a long battle for democracy, rule of law, inclusion and republican order and if the people in power were allowed to violate legal provisions, then that would challenge the hard-earned political gains.

Tuladhar said Article 38 of the constitution guaranteed proportional representation of women in all state organs and hence the NCP’s failure to ensure 33 per cent women representation in the party’s CC was against the spirit of the constitution.

Senior Advocate Surendra Bhandari said the Election Commission’s decision to register the NCP (NCP) was wrong and could be challenged in the court.

He said the EC, which had the obligation of ensuring 33 per cent representation of women in NCP (NCP)’s  CC as per the party’s interim statute and Article 15 (4) of the Political Party Registration Act did not fulfil its obligation even when it had the authority to give 40 to 45 days to the party to meet the legal criterion.  He said Section 44 (d) of the NCP (NCP)’s interim statue guaranteed 33 per cent representation of women in the central committee and all other committees of the party, besides guaranteeing inclusive structure. “NCP (NCP)’s violation of these legal provisions gives an impression that the party is above the law,” he said and added that if not checked, it could signal the start of autocracy in the country.

“If the ruling party does not abide by legal and constitutional provisions today, it will not abide by the law in the future also when it finds certain provisions not suiting its interests,” he said and added that a powerful government must be more accountable to the public. When asked why the EC allowed registration of NCP (NCP) without the party ensuring 33 per cent representation of women in the party’s CC, Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhi Prasad Yadav said, “We have taken decisions as per the laws. I do not want to comment further on the issue.”

Assistant Spokesperson for EC Mukunda Sharma said none of the parties had met the criterion of ensuring 33 per cent women representation and the EC, therefore, decided to register the NCP (NCP). Asked if the EC would require the party to fulfil this criterion in a stipulated timeframe, Sharma said, “We are going to write letters to all the political parties telling them to fulfil legal criteria of ensuring 33 per cent women representation in the parties’ committees,” he added.