The Election Commission has sidestepped the legal resolution of CPN's dispute.
The Election Commission's meeting on Sunday has decided to tell the erstwhile CPN Chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal that the previous details of the ruling party stand valid. The faction of Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal had removed Oli as chairman and replaced him with Nepal after Oli dissolved the House on December 20 while Oli had removed Dahal as executive chairman and expanded the central committee to 1,500 to manufacture majority in the central committee.
The two factions had informed the Election Commission about those decisions and staked claims for official recognition with the Dahal-Nepal faction arguing that it has support of almost 70 percent of the central committee members at the time of registration with the Election Commission and the Oli faction pointing that the faction that has the top-ranked chairman (Oli) and general secretary (Bishnu Paudel) should get official recognition.
The Election Commission had sought documents from both the factions after the dispute about recognition arose. It had then told both the factions that the decisions taken were not in accordance to the statute.
The Election Commission in this way has officially recognized the united party registered with it having Oli and Dahal as two chairmen even as the party has virtually split.
Election Commission Spokesperson Raj Kumar Shrestha told Setopati that details cannot be changed. "Change of the details can't be allowed," he stated. "Decision has been taken to inform CPN Chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal that the previous details remain valid."
