Nepal Opposition Party rift: 30 lawmakers, 54 Central Committee members of CPN-UML sign up for new party

Weeks after lodging an application with the Election Commission to register their new party, members of the rival faction inside Nepal's opposition CPN-UML presented themselves for in-person verification.

As many as 30 lawmakers and 54 central committee members from CPN-UML arrived at Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday. The electoral body on Wednesday verified a new party led by Madhav Kumar Nepal after registering an application.

Thirty lawmakers from both the National Assembly and the House of Representatives and 54 central committee members of CPN-UML showed themselves at the EC to verify themselves as members of the Nepal-led Unified Socialist party.

"Talking about the required number, we have enough number to register and claim ourselves as party both formally and as per the legal procedures. Our party, the Nepal Communist Party- Unified Socialist Party is registered," Gangadhar Tuladhar, acting spokesperson of the lately formed party told reporters in a briefing.

As per the newly amended Acts relating to the Political Parties 2017, the new party should comprise 20 per cent of lawmakers or the central committee members of the party of origin.

Although the number of lawmakers identified in the EC is not enough for the valid split of the party, Nepal's new party got enough support from the central committee members as out of the required 41 members 54 verified as the members of the newly formed party.

The EC had earlier summoned the Madhav Nepal-led CPN-Unified (Socialist) and the Mahanta Thakur-led Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) for identification.

The CPN-UML has formally split after the ordinance on political parties was issued with the support of 20 per cent in the parliamentary parties and the Central Committee.

Leader Nepal had submitted the names of 58 members of the UML's 203-member central committee to the EC. However, as the party registration application was not signed, the identities of the seven candidates could not be ascertained.

( With inputs from ANI )

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