Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) has accused the Election Commission of arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution to not allow male candidates for the post of vice-president
The meeting of Election Commission earlier on Friday instructed the Office of Election Officer to register nominations of only non-Khas-Arya women.
“The Constitution states that the gender of president and vice-president should be different. The Election Commission has instructed accordingly,” Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Thapaliya told Setopati. “Women from Khas-Arya community also cannot file nomination as Ram Chandra Paudel from the community was elected president yesterday.”
The Election Commission’s instruction means that Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) parliamentary party leader Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, who was picked as JSP’s candidate on Thursday, cannot become the common coalition candidate for vice-president.
JSP has taken exception to the Election Commission’s decision accusing the constitutional body of making its own interpretation.
“We have picked our candidate as per the spirit of Constitution. The Election Commission cannot make wrong interpretation in that,” JSP lawmaker Pradeep Yadav told Setopati. “The Constitution only says an individual of another community not different gender.”
The Election Commission’s instruction has also put paid to JSP Chairman Upendra Yadav’s plans to get elected to the House of Representatives (HoR). Chairman Yadav, who lost to Janamat Party Chairman CK Raut in the House of Representatives (HoR) constituency of Saptari-2, wanted to make his confidant Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, who was elected from Bara-2, vice-president and contest the by-election from that constituency.
The eight parties including CPN (Maoist Center), Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Unified Socialist), JSP, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP), Janamat Party, Rastriya Janamorcha and Nagarik Unmukti Party while deciding to field the joint presidential candidate from NC had also agreed to give the post of vice-president to JSP.
