The CPN-UML, which has gone to court seeking the restoration of the House of Representatives, has begun asking lower-level party committees to submit names of candidates for the House of Representatives election.
The UML has started collecting names for proportional representation (PR) candidates for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, 2026.
However, the party has not yet convened a meeting of its secretariat.
The UML held its 11th general convention from December 13 to December 18.
According to UML Secretary Rajan Bhattarai, it has not been possible to convene a meeting immediately since the party leadership was busy with the general convention and a new committee has only recently been elected.
However, subordinate committees have already begun recommending names for proportional representation candidates, and the central office is preparing a roster of names, said Bhattarai.
Political parties must submit their closed PR lists on December 28 and 29 for the House of Representatives election. Parties are required to submit a list of up to 110 candidates, ensuring representation from various clusters.
Political parties including the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, which have filed writ petitions in the Supreme Court against the dissolution of the House of Representatives, have registered for election purposes and are also preparing to submit their closed lists.
The Nepali Congress is formally asking for names of candidates. Meanwhile, the UML is also collecting names through General Secretary Shankar Pokharel, Bhattarai said.
“Names of candidates for proportional representation are coming in from lower-level committees. District committees are sending names,” Bhattarai told Setopati. “Even though the secretariat has not held a formal meeting, discussions are taking place. Informal talks are also ongoing.”
Another newly-elected UML secretary also said that the party is formally collecting names and preparing a roster. “The party has asked for names and prepared a roster. Preparations are underway to submit the closed list,” he said.
However, secretariat members themselves have begun objecting to the move to seek names from lower levels without holding a secretariat meeting.
Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai said that he drew the attention of General Secretary Pokharel to the matter on Tuesday and urged him to convene a meeting.
“The House of Representatives election is on March 5. The schedule for submitting the PR list is December 28 and 29. Candidacy registration for direct election is scheduled for January 20, and the National Assembly election is on January 25. In the past, names were sought by holding committee meetings for all these processes,” Yogesh told Pokharel during the meeting. “This time, there has been no formal information about preparations. So a secretariat meeting is necessary for discussion.”
Bhattarai said that he, however, has not received a concrete response from General Secretary Pokharel on the matter.
The UML has scheduled its second central committee meeting for January 10 to 12. The party is preparing to convene its first secretariat meeting before that to discuss the agenda and proposals to be presented to the central committee.
It is likely that the party will formally call for names of both direct and proportional candidates from lower-level committees during that meeting.
Bhattarai also wrote on Facebook that he had drawn the attention of General Secretary Pokharel to the matter.
“The deadline for submitting names of proportional candidates for the House of Representatives election is approaching. The party needs to hold a meeting, set criteria, and instruct lower-level committees to recommend candidates. I have drawn the attention of General Secretary Shankar Pokharel to this matter over the phone,” he wrote.
UML leader Gokul Baskota has also mocked the party’s move to seek candidate names quietly. Baskota, who was defeated while contesting for the post of secretary at the general convention, posted a sarcastic status on Tuesday.
“Parties say elections won’t happen, yet they are secretly collecting names for proportional members,” he wrote sarcastically. “Which one should we believe? Strange!”
