The Election Commission has annulled the application by former Maoist leaders, who have now joined CPN-UML, demanding revocation of registration of CPN (Maoist Center).
The application submitted Wednesday demanded revocation of registration of Maoist Center pointing that it has already lost its status as political party as per the Constitution and the act related to political parties.
Election Commission Spokesperson Raj Kumar Shrestha said the Election Commission's meeting on Sunday revoked the application saying its claims are unfounded.
One Saroj Budathoki on July 7 had registered the application while erstwhile Maoist leaders Mani Thapa, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Prabhu Sah and Gauri Shankar Chaudhari had gone to the Election Commission to ask what it is doing with the application.
A meeting of the Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya and four commissioners on Sunday has revoked the application. "The claims mentioned in the application are not grounded. There is no reason for revocation of the party. There is, therefore, no need to take any decision on the application," Spokesperson Shrestha told Setopati. "Registration of Maoist Center cannot be revoked."
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, had moved for revocation of the registration.
The leaders 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.
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.
