KATHMANDU: Ishwar Pokharel, who was defeated in the race for the CPN-UML party chair, was not invited to the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected office-bearers following the 11th general convention of the CPN-UML.
Party chair KP Sharma Oli, who secured his third consecutive term, along with the party’s election commission and the presidium, did not invite Pokharel to the oath-taking ceremony held at Bhrikutimandap.
Although leaders from the Pokharel camp had gathered at the party office in Thapagaun and were preparing to attend the ceremony to congratulate the elected leaders, they were reportedly ignored.
“We wanted to attend the oath-taking ceremony and congratulate the friends who were elected. But there was no information from the presidium, the Election Commission, or the chair,” said one leader who was defeated in the race for office. “Ishwar and Surendra Pandey, along with others, wished to congratulate the winners at Bhrikutimandap, but we could not go as we received no information about the ceremony.”
According to party rules, the presidium remains active until the oath-taking of newly elected office-bearers is completed. The failure to invite Pokharel, a chair candidate, has fueled criticism from the dissenting faction, which claims that Oli is attempting to sideline rivals and those who challenge his leadership.
“We were all waiting to go, but no message came,” the leader said. “We had even included the names of KP Oli and Shankar Pokharel in our panel, guided by the principles of People’s Multiparty Democracy (Jabaj). However, immediately after the election results, the practice of exclusion became evident at the oath-taking itself. Even before the party’s election commission formally declared all central committee members elected, such practices had already begun.”
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