Kathmandu. The CPN (UML) has started preparations for the 10th National General Convention with the conclusion that there should not be much confusion in the name of the party unity process. UML has made public the election schedule of the Legislative General Convention, ward and local level to be held in November.
The Central Committee meeting held on 25 July also passed an amendment proposal on the leadership selection system to be held from the upcoming general convention. Many friends understand that Madhav Nepal's strategy is to remain confused in the name of party unity but not to come to an agreement. So now the party cannot be jammed ', says Chief Whip Vishal Bhattarai. He says that the convention-centric activities and decisions to make the party dynamic and strong will not stop now.
UML has been in a frenzy as Chairman KP Sharma Oli has proposed to change the electoral system through legislative amendment. But leaders close to Oli say the legislative amendment proposal should not be undone. "Legislative amendment proposal is open for discussion, not decided. That is why the unity process will not be obstructed ', says standing committee member Chhavilal Vishwakarma.
However, the Madhav group and the youth on both sides seem to be more skeptical of the legislative amendment proposal brought to empower the chairperson and stop the leadership-building process. "The chairman will be elected from the general convention but the office bearers will be nominated. The chairman will do whatever he wants," said Beduram Bhusal, a member of the standing committee. He understands that this proposal will make the UML leadership dictatorial.
In the legislative amendment proposal passed by the Central Committee, provision has been made for the election of the post of chairperson and central member only. The remaining two vice presidents, one general secretary, two deputy general secretaries, and seven secretaries will be nominated. The proposal to have a 225-member central committee has been amended so that there will be no alternate central members.
A proposal has been put forward to abolish the Politburo, which is considered an important structure in the Communist Party. The Politburo, which is considered as a policy-making body, is considered by the communists as a special structure. This structure was also a basis for distinguishing between communists and non-communists. But Savik's Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) did not become a politburo. Chairman Oli, on the other hand, has proposed the abolition of the politburo and alternate central member posts.
Another proposal mentioned in the legislative amendment is to facilitate the distribution of party membership. UML has proposed to simplify the understanding that it is not easy to get membership of the Communist Party. 'Simplify the process of getting party membership. For this, an application should be submitted to the Palika Committee, the decision should be taken by the District Committee, and the membership number should be determined by the Central Committee, 'the proposal states.
Leaving the Congress, following the UML
Leaders of the Madhav faction are of the view that the proposed amendment to the constitution has raised doubts about the unity process as well as the democratic integrity of the leadership. "Even if it was said that only central members would be selected from the general convention and they would elect office bearers, it would be democratic," says Bhusal, a leader close to Madhav Nepal.
According to Bhusal, the UML had used the system till the seventh general convention. Central members would be elected from the General Convention and the leadership would be selected by the Central Committee. But a combination of young leaders and even Oli himself proposed a multi-party system to democratize the leadership. As per the proposal made in the seventh general convention, party office bearers including the chairperson, central committee, and central body were elected from the hall of the general convention from the eighth general convention. Oli was defeated by Jhala Nath Khanal in the general convention.
As in the eighth, the general convention elected the entire leadership in the ninth. Oli defeated Madhav Nepal, who had led the party for 14 years, and was elected chairman. The multi-party system and the system of direct election from the General Convention also brought the younger generation to the leadership in the UML.
For example, among the old leaders of the party, Vidya Bhandari was continuously elected vice-president. Being in the post of vice-president also made it easy for him to become a presidential candidate. Due to the system of direct election from the General Convention, not only President Bhandari but also many young leaders came to the UML leadership.
The electoral system adopted by the UML was an important basis for the leaders like Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Ghanshyam Bhusal, Shankar Pokhrel, Pradip Gyawali, and Yogesh Bhattarai to become office bearers. Another example is Thakur Gaire. The central leader was elected in the eighth general convention, winning the hearts of the delegates from all over the country who were not believed by the senior leaders but had been the chairperson of the UNRWA.
The Ninth General Convention selected the entire leadership. Oli defeated Madhav Nepal, who had led the party for 14 years, and was elected chairman. The multi-party system and the system of direct election from the General Convention also brought the younger generation to the leadership in the UML.
"This system, aimed at democratizing leadership, has also played an important role in leadership building," he said. But the legislative amendment proposal brought now prevents that ', says a leader close to Oli. He thinks that this proposal will not be passed.
But leaders close to Oli say the amendment was proposed because the leadership had problems working when all office-bearers were elected from the General Convention. Spokesperson Pradip Gyawali did not hide this fact after the meeting. 'When the president and other office-bearers were elected from the general convention, a little bit of jurisdiction, a little bit of overall leadership of the president created a problem somewhere. We have sought a modification from the same experience ', he said.
However, the precedent of the past does not confirm that there is no dispute and the party remains united due to strong leadership. When the UML split into 2054 BS, there was no system of electing office bearers from the General Convention. Madhav Nepal was a powerful general secretary.
The same is true of other parties. When the Nepali Congress split in 2059 BS, the height and power of President Girija Prasad Koirala could not be compared with other leaders. Chairman of the Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, who has been in the leadership for more than three decades, has not been able to resolve the party division and contradictions even now. Oli, Prachanda, and Nepal were still powerful when the CPN (Maoist) split on December 20.
'The proposal put forward by KP Oli seems to be to make the UML a Congress party. This is not the right way ', says one leader. However, Congress is electing all the office bearers and central members from the 14th General Convention except the Treasurer.
While Congress had a powerful president. The president and a limited number of central members were elected by the general convention. The rest of the office bearers and 75 percent of the central members were nominated by the chairman. After the twelfth general convention, the president and general secretary of the Nepali Congress began to be elected from the hall. In the thirteenth, the president, general secretary, and treasurer were elected and the rest of the office bearers were nominated. By the time of the last general convention, 80 percent of the central members were also elected from the hall.
In the 14th General Convention, Congress is adopting not only democratization of leadership but also inclusion. One president, two vice presidents, two general secretaries, and eight joint general secretaries are being directly elected from the convention hall. It has also made arrangements for the joint general minister to be elected on the basis of inclusive structure.
At one time, 75 percent of the central members and the majority of office bearers were selected by the president. At present, only the treasurer and 20 percent of the central members will be selected by the chairman, 'says leader Ram Hari Khatiwada.
