Former Maoist leaders who have now joined CPN-UML have applied with the Election Commission for revocation of registration of CPN (Maoist Center).
Election Commission Spokesperson Raj Kumar Shrestha confirmed that an application has been received on Wednesday demanding revocation of registration of CPN (Maoist Center) pointing that it has already lost its status as political party as per the Constitution and the act related to political parties.
Leaders including Ram Bahadur Thapa and others, who joined UML quitting Maoist Center after the Supreme Court (SC) invalidated the unification of UML and Maoist Center on March 7, have submitted application for revocation of the registration.
The leaders have pointed that the party has not held general convention for a long time. The party had held its last general convention in February 2013 and had decided to unify with UML by the time the five-year limit set by the Constitution between two general conventions expired. It eventually unified with UML in May 2018 to form CPN but the SC has invalidated the unification restoring the two parties to the state before unification.
Election Commission Spokesperson Shrestha said the application will be studied in the secretariat and decision taken after being presented to the Election Commission.
Interestingly UML is also well past the five-year deadline having held the last general convention in July 2014. But it crucially had not crossed the five-year deadline when it unified with Maoist Center in May 2018.
The main opposition Nepali Congress has also already crossed the five-year deadline having held its last general convention in March 2016. But it has already announced to hold the general convention in September within the six-month extension allowed by the Constitution.
"Provided that in case election of the office bearers could not be held within five years due to situation arising out of special circumstance, there shall be no hindrance to make provision in the statute of a political party to hold such election within a period of six months," states the provision in Article 269(4b) of the Constitution related to political parties.
Both Maoist Center and UML have used up even the six-month extension granted by the Constitution. But the two parties have spent almost three years together as CPN.
