CPN-UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) candidates from Manang have submitted applications to withdraw their candidacies for the upcoming House election.
According to Chief Election Officer Ram Prasad Paudel, UML candidate Polden Chhopang Gurung and RPP candidate Kubi Singh Gurung submitted their withdrawal applications a short while ago. "They submitted applications a while ago requesting to withdraw their candidacies. Those applications have been registered, and a decision will be made regarding this after one in the afternoon," Chief Election Officer Paudel told Setopati.
The deadline for withdrawing candidacies finishes at one Friday afternoon.
NC and UML candidates decided whose candidacy would stand by drawing lots.
According to UML Vice Chairman Prithvi Subba Gurung, NC candidate Tek Bahadur Gurung and UML candidate Polden Chhopang settled candidacy for the federal parliament and provincial assembly by drawing lots.
He stated that the UML has not received formal information regarding this. "We have heard that candidacies for the federal and provincial levels were finalized by drawing lots. The party has no formal information, and this was not done under the party's instruction. It could be a matter of mutual understanding between the two candidates. We are looking into this," Gurung told Setopati. "After I found out about this, I told him not to do so."
There are two seats in the provincial assembly in Manang. One of them is vacant. The seat of Rajiv Gurung, who ran as an independent candidate in 2022, is vacant following an order from the Supreme Court. Although the Election Commission had set a date for the election, it was later postponed.
According to UML leaders in Manang, there is an understanding that NC will support UML in two constituencies in the upcoming provincial assembly elections.
Meanwhile, it has not yet been known why the RPP candidate submitted an application to withdraw his candidacy. RPP Spokesperson Mohan Kumar Shrestha stated that the party has no information as to why the party's candidate in Manang applied to withdraw the candidacy.
