KATHMANDU: Amid growing debate over the 70-year age limit within the ruling CPN-UML, Deputy General Secretary Pradeep Gyawali clarified on Wednesday that the issue will be resolved in the party’s second statute convention, scheduled for Bhadra.
Speaking to the media following the party’s Secretariat meeting held at the central office in Chyasal, Gyawali stated that the age limit provision should not be treated as a matter of ideology.
“The issue of the 70-year age threshold is not a question of principle. It’s a technical and practical issue, and the statute convention will take the final call,” he said.
He explained that the age limit had first been discussed during the party’s ninth general convention in Kathmandu and was then formally included in the tenth general convention. However, the Central Committee had temporarily suspended the provision.
“The suspension proposal will now go to the statute convention,” Gyawali said, urging against speculative interpretations and reiterating that the issue should not be elevated to a matter of ideological importance.
The age limit debate has reignited following speculation that former President Bidya Devi Bhandari may return to active politics through the UML.
With current party chair KP Sharma Oli already 74 years old, he is seen as supporting a continuation of the suspension, while Senior Vice-Chair Ishwar Pokharel, reportedly backing Bhandari’s re-entry, has publicly advocated for enforcing the 70-year limit.
The party appears divided over the issue, and many now expect a vote on the matter during the upcoming statute convention.
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