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At the ongoing Central Committee meeting of the CPN-UML in the capital, a central member revealed that there has been a demand to make public the electoral review and party restructuring report prepared earlier by General Secretary Shankar Pokharel.
Leader Krishnabhakta Pokharel said that he and other leaders have raised questions in the committee about why the report, allegedly prepared to hold party Chairman KP Sharma Oli responsible for the poor election results, has not been published.
Chairman Oli submitted a separate report on the election review to the Central Committee on Monday.
Another central member, Rishikesh Pokharel, claimed that the task force’s report is included in the chairman’s report and that the task force’s report is no longer relevant.
“The chairman has prepared the report based on the task force and the secretariat. The general secretary has also expressed support for it,” he said on a telephone call from the meeting venue.
Following the recent House of Representatives election in Falgun, where the UML lost 53 seats compared to the previous election, limiting themselves to 25 seats, the party formed a task force led by Vice Chairman Ram Bahadur Thapa to collect suggestions from leaders and activists across the country and conduct a review.
Although details of the report prepared by General Secretary Shankar Pokharel on behalf of the task force have been published in various media outlets, leaders said it has not been presented in the party meeting.
“The main concern is whether the chairman’s report addressed the sentiments of the task force’s report, which took four months to prepare. Since the chairman did not even submit it as an annex, the work done so far by the task force has essentially lost its value,” leader Krishnabhakta Pokharel said after Tuesday’s Central Committee meeting.
Many party activists feel that the suggestions submitted to the task force have been disregarded.
“If the Central Committee members were provided an opportunity to discuss and deliberate on the report’s points, only then could we address the root of the problems.”
However, another central member, Rishikesh Pokharel, believes that instead of getting entangled in the task force report, the party should focus on discussions about moving forward with an election-centric approach.
“I have emphasized the need to move forward with political, ideological, and organizational restructuring. I have suggested instituting an automatic code of conduct for the party,” he said.
What the Report Says About the Party Leadership
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Oli resigned from the prime ministerial post last year in Bhadra following the JNG movement.
Previously, a task force member, Leelanath Shrestha, said the report is still under review, but another member, Damodar Bhandari, complained that he has not even seen the report.
Khagaraj Adhikari, a member from Gandaki Province, also said he hasn’t seen the report. Leader Krishnabhakta shared that questions were raised during the party’s Central Committee meeting since the report was not presented.
According to leaked details, the draft report mentions that after the 2064 (Bikram Sambat) Constituent Assembly election when the party came third, then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned from party leadership responsibility, and expectations are now placed on the current leadership.
“Following a major electoral defeat, our then-General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned on moral grounds. Internationally, it is accepted that after a severe electoral loss, responsibilities are borne on ethical grounds. It appears that the current leadership has neglected this principle,” the report excerpt states, although it has not been independently confirmed whether this is part of the official report or not.
However, Rishikesh Pokharel mentioned that this issue was not raised in the Central Committee meeting.
“Even nearly 100 central members who spoke have not suggested that the chairman should step down,” he said.
Earlier, task force member Damodar Bhandari had said suggestions for leadership resignation came from grassroots and lower-level discussions within the party.
“Such topics have come up. Reactions are mixed. The task force has discussed integrating all suggestions received from different areas to form a consolidated opinion,” Bhandari added.
The report presented by Chairman Oli on Monday also argues that “leadership should not abandon the party during crisis.”
“During crises, leadership must not leave the organization in uncertainty. It is the role of the leadership to seek and fix weaknesses, face the truth, uplift the morale of party workers, return to the people’s homes, and build the path forward,” states Oli’s report.
Another task force member Shrestha claimed that no issue of moral responsibility was raised from his province.
“Such topics have not surfaced in our Madhesh Province. I have noted that,” said Shrestha.
“Mr. Shankar Pokharel has written what he understands. We will now verify whether it aligns with our discussions in the task force, remove what is not needed, and add what is necessary. We will confirm the accuracy of the report accordingly.”
The task force collected suggestions from district and provincial committee leaders and Central Committee members. However, sources indicate that the draft prepared by Pokharel was objected to by coordinator Thapa and party chairman Oli, so the report was not approved by the task force.
How Will UML Move Forward?
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The task force draft suggested reinstating the age limit of 70 years and restricting leadership executive posts to no more than two terms. However, the CPN-UML had abolished the age limit at last year’s party statute convention. Had the age limit been in force, Oli would have been automatically compelled to step down.
Former minister and task force member Shrestha said while there were suggestions regarding organizational restructuring, the chairmanship is beyond the task force’s mandate.
“We have not been given the authority or agenda to debate that. There has been no discussion on whether to keep or remove it,” he had said earlier.
“Some may have personal suggestions, but that is not official.”
According to another member, Bhandari, the suggestions gathered from 13 different groups included mixed feedback from Sudurpashchim Province.
“Suggestions have also been made that the party needs to change its policies, leadership, ideology, working methods, organization, and structure in line with the altered current circumstances,” Bhandari, who is also in charge of the party’s Sudurpashchim Province, told reporters.
“There are also voices that the leadership must be defended.”
The draft report proposes holding a quick general convention, special general convention, or a general convention representative council meeting to address the suggestions received.
Bhandari confirmed that similar suggestions have come from his own province as well.
However, Oli-aligned task force member Shrestha contends that the special general convention topic was not raised during suggestion collection.
“I don’t know what the writer has put down. No one has raised the issue of a special general convention,” he said.
Before the conclusion of the UML Central Committee meeting, secretariat members indicated that a consensus will be reached concerning the party’s political and organizational issues.
Central member Rishikesh Pokharel said that upcoming strategies will be formulated incorporating the recommendations from Chairman Oli’s report.
