Kathmandu, November 19

Nepali Congress district committee presidents are gathering in Kakani, Nuwakot, on November 28 and 29 to come up with a uniform opinion and recommendation on the draft amendment to the party statute ahead of the Maha Samiti meet slated for December 14-18 in Kathmandu.

The NC is amending is statute in line with the country’s new federal set-up and electoral constituency delineation. The draft amendment, after its endorsement by the party’s central working committee, will have to be passed by the Maha Samiti with the two-thirds majority.

Although the statute drafting committee has yet to officially make public the draft, leaders representing rival camps led by senior NC leader Ramchandra Paudel and Krishna Prasad Sitaula are voicing concerns that the establishment faction is trying to make party President Sher Bahadur Deuba more powerful by empowering him to appoint all party office bearers, among others.

Against this backdrop, the district presidents are expected to come up with the recommendation that all the office bearers should be elected democratically through the general convention.

NC Nuwakot district President Jagadish Narsingh KC said that their gathering would present their recommendations to the NC CWC meeting before the statute drafting committee presents the draft statute.

He said they would recommend election of all office bearers and formation of party committees, including the parliamentary board, central work execution committee, election committee and disciplinary committee, through the general convention.

“We are of the view that 85 per cent of CWC members should be elected though general convention,” said KC. “We want the party to be run democratically, and the statute should be amended in line with the changed context of the 21st century.”

The district presidents are also expected to recommend increasing the size of the CWC and central committees of district and provincial bodies.

NC Panchthar district President Narendra Kumar Kerung said they would recommend increasing the size of the NC CWC to 151 members. “This is needed to accommodate young influential leaders,” he said.

Other recommendations the district presidents will make include election of CWC members from the respective provinces. Presently, general convention representatives from across the country vote for CWC members, and a person with weak support in one district might win a CWC membership due to votes coming in from other districts.

“What we want is that a CWC member candidate from one province should be voted by general convention representatives from the same province, not others. Or else, the elected might not be responsible towards the province,” said Kerung.