KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has reached Shital Niwas to meet President Bidya Devi Bhandari.
PM Deuba went to meet the President soon after the cabinet brought an ordinance to amend the Political Parties Act 2017 that would pave the way for the political parties to split.
The cabinet meeting held in Baluwatar today had passed an ordinance on political parties.
Sources in Baluwatar said PM Deuba has gone to Sheetal Niwas to discuss the ordinance authentication and other issues.
The draft has included some new provisions to facilitate the party split, sources have said.
As per the new provision, a new party can be registered at the Election Commission with 20 percent support either in the parliamentary party or in the party’s central committee.
While in opposition, the ruling Nepali Congress and other parties of the erstwhile opposition alliance had objected to the then KP Oli-led government’s attempt to introduce a similar ordinance in April 2020.
Sources also said that the mandatory percentage of the members was not mentioned earlier when it was drafted by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law.
After discussions with CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, the government has introduced the provision of 20 percent members for party split.
Interestingly, the amendment meant to ease UML’s Khanal-Nepal faction is likely to make the Mahanta Thakur faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party more comfortable as well.
Similarly, the latest draft of the ordinance has relaxed the political freedom of the people’s representatives at local and provincial levels.
As per the new provision, the people’s representatives of Province or local levels can change the party, they can do so by notifying the concerned assembly within 21 days of the split of political parties.
The provision is sure to pacify the local and province-level leaders willing to revolt against UML Chairman Oli, as they can save their position even after joining the new party.
Comment