- The Nepali Congress has begun ward-level conventions, the first stage of preparations for the party's upcoming 15th General Convention.
- These conventions elect local leaders and delegates for municipality, constituency, and central elections scheduled for late September and early October.
- The party's revised statute expands the Central Working Committee to 232 members to improve representation for women, youth, and diverse social groups.
- This process allows the party to transition leadership while implementing new, inclusive organizational structures across all levels of the hierarchy.
Kathmandu, Nepal: The Nepali Congress has begun its ward-level conventions from Saturday as part of preparations for its 15th General Convention.
The party’s Central Election Committee has allowed ward conventions to be held on Saturday and Sunday based on local conditions. Conventions are being conducted in most parts of the country, while some areas have faced changes to the schedule because of local circumstances.
The ward convention marks the first stage of the party’s internal election process. It elects ward-level office-bearers and representatives who will take part in subsequent stages of the convention.
According to the schedule, rural municipality and municipality conventions will be held on 7 Asoj, followed by Provincial Assembly and House of Representatives constituency conventions on 10 Asoj. The 15th General Convention is scheduled for 16 to 19 Asoj, with voting for the central leadership set for 19 Asoj.
The convention process has also intensified competition among leaders seeking positions in the party’s central leadership. Aspirants and their supporters are working to secure support from representatives at the grassroots and higher organizational levels. The final leadership, however, will be determined through the delegates selected during the convention process and the scheduled central election.
The general convention is being held under a revised party statute approved by the special general convention. Under the new provision, the Central Working Committee will have 232 members, compared with 168 previously.
Of the 232 members, 171 will be elected and 61 will be nominated by the party president. The revised statute also includes provisions aimed at increasing the representation of women, youth and different social and professional groups.
The new structure provides for greater youth participation in the Central Working Committee, including 21 elected members below the age of 35.
The increase in the size of the Central Working Committee will give the party more positions for representation, but it will also require the new leadership to manage a larger organizational structure. How the expanded committee functions will depend on the distribution of responsibilities and the decision-making process adopted by the new leadership.
The ward conventions are particularly important because they determine the representatives who will participate in the next stages of the process. The party’s statute provides for representation of women, Dalits, youth and other groups in the organizational structure.
For the Nepali Congress, the 15th General Convention is therefore both a leadership election and an opportunity to put the amended party statute into practice.
The process will now move from the wards to the local levels and electoral constituencies before reaching the central convention, where the party will elect its new leadership.
