An agreement has been reached within the Nepali Congress to increase the number of office-bearers in the party.
Party leaders said that the agreement will be presented as part of a proposal to amend the party statute during the closed session of the general convention for a final decision.
Under the current statute, the party has one president, two vice-presidents, two general secretaries, 11 joint general secretaries (eight elected and three nominated), and one treasurer nominated by the president.
The party is now preparing to increase the number of office-bearers amid a growing number of aspirants for the posts.
A party office-bearer told Setopati that an understanding has been reached to increase the number of vice-presidents to four.
“Under the current statute, there are two vice-presidents. An understanding has been reached to amend the statute and have four vice-presidents, including one senior vice-president. The decision will be made by the closed session,” the office-bearer said. “One of the vice-presidents must be a woman, and all four will be elected.”
Similarly, leaders have reached an agreement to increase the number of joint general secretaries.
At the 14th general convention held in 2021, the party had a provision for electing eight joint general secretaries from different representation clusters. The special general convention held in January retained that arrangement and increased the number to 11 by adding three nominated joint general secretaries.
Although the statute currently provides for 11 joint general secretaries, leaders have now agreed to increase the number further. An agreement has been reached to add two more, bringing the total to 13.
“Eleven joint general secretaries will be elected, while it has been proposed that two will be nominated by the president from among the central members,” the office-bearer said.
Some leaders had also called for increasing the number of general secretaries to three, but an understanding has been reached to retain two general secretaries.
Leaders had advised party President Gagan Thapa to increase the number of office-bearers while keeping more positions in the nomination category. However, Thapa did not agree and instead proposed that the additional office-bearers be elected.
The Nepali Congress’s 15th general convention begins on Sunday. The closed session will be held on Monday and Tuesday, after which the election process will begin.
