KATHMANDU, MARCH 10
Just a day before filing nomination for the post of the country's third vice-president, two more parties of the ruling eight-party alliance have announced their candidates for the ceremonial post.
CK Raut-led Janamat Party has announced that the party will field its leader Mamata Jha for the post of vice-president. Jha, 53, from Saptari will file her nomination tomorrow, said party leader BP Sah. "She has worked as district in-charge of the party," he added.
Though the eight-party alliance had reportedly agreed to support Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal for the post of vice-president that allowed the Nepali Congress to field its candidate for the post of president, Resham Chaudhari-led Nagarik Unmukti Party has also announced that it will field party Chair Ranjeeta Shrestha for the vice-president.
However, as Shrestha is just 40, the constitution bars her from filing her nomination as she does not meet the minimum age criteria of 45 years. "We took a decision to field Shrestha, but due to the age factor, the issue will be discussed in the joint meeting of the eight parties," party's chief whip Ganga Ram Tharu said.
Earlier, the JSP-N had proposed its lawmaker and leader of the parliamentary party Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav for the post of vice-president. "On February 24, when the eight parties agreed to support the Nepali Congress presidential candidate, they also agreed to give the vice-president to the JSP-N," leader Manish Suman claimed.
However, the main opposition party - CPN-UML - has not announced its candidate for the post of vice-president yet. "We will decide our candidate through the party's secretariat meeting tomorrow morning," UML's central committee member Ramesh Badal said, adding that it would choose a female candidate from the marginalised community.
Election for the post of vice-president is scheduled for March 17. The vice-president will also be elected by an electoral college composed of the members of the federal Parliament and the Province Assemblies.
Meanwhile, issuing a statement today, the Election Commission has reminded the parties of the constitutional provision that requires the president and vice-president to be from a different sex or community. "Election of the president and vice-president under the constitution shall be so made as to have representation of a different sex or community," the EC said quoting the constitutional clause.
Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel (a male from the Khas-Arya community) was elected Nepal's president yesterday.
Thus, only candidates who are female or from other than the Khas-Arya community would be able to file nomination for the post of vice-president, according to the EC's statement. "A meeting of the eight-party alliance shall take a formal decision on its final candidate tomorrow before filing nomination for the post of vice-president," said NC Vice-president Purna Bahadur Khadka.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
