Report BY BISHNU BUDHATHOKI, The Kathmandu Post ( Feb21,2008 edition)
Out of the 74 parties registered at the Election Commission (EC), 37 parties including those in the ruling seven-party alliance submitted closed lists of their candidates at the EC Wednesday for contesting 335 Constituent Assembly seats under the proportional electoral system.
After submission of his party’s closed list, Maoist Chairman Prachanda, flanked by senior party leader Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ and Maoist ministers, told journalists at the EC premises that the CPN-Maoist list has several inclusive features.
“We have allotted around 51 percent of the seats for women, 37.8 percent for ethnic communities including minorities like the Chepangs, 90 seats for Madhesis, 15 percent seats for dalits, 12 seats for candidates from backward regions, and 87 for others, apart from several seats for independent personalities,” he said. However, the Maoists have not met the legal criteria in the case of Madhesi seats which should have numbered at least 104.
Besides the Maoists, major constituents in the coalition government the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, and other parties in the interim parliament Rastriya Prajatantra Party and pro-monarch Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal submitted candidacies for all 335 seats.
Talking to journalists, UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said his party has submitted a very balanced list in accordance with the electoral law.
He also reiterated that the election should take place on the slated date. When asked about the non-presence of agitating Madhesi parties at the EC for submitting their lists, Nepal said the ongoing dialogue with the Madhesi leaders is heading in a positive direction and hoped they would also take part in the election.
Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel said that if any political party wanted to ensure the people’s rights, it should take part in the election. “If anybody does not want to take part in the election, it is his/her right, but we want to integrate all and take part in the election together,” he added.
Similarly, the ruling CPN (Marxist-Leninist) party led by CP Mainali, Nepal Sadbhavana Party-Anandidevi led by Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Shyam Shundar Gupta, Nepal Workers Peasants Party and People’s Front Nepal submitted the names of 100, 64 and 53
candidates respectively for election under the proportional system.
PM’s name in closed list
Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala is contesting the April poll under the proportional system. His is the first name in the closed list submitted by the Nepali Congress.
This is the first time the prime minister will be contesting under a proportional system. In the past, Koirala has been elected thrice from his hometown under the first-past-the-post electoral system.
However, none of the agitating parties representing the restive tarai submitted their closed lists.
According to the Election Commission, 37 parties have submitted some 4,000 candidates’ names for the 335 seats.
The interim constitution has arranged for a 601-seat Constituent Assembly, of which 335 members will be elected through the PR system, 240 members through first-past-the-post (FPTP), and the remaining 26 members will be nominated by the prime minister.
The EC has set February 25 as the day for filing the names of candidates under the FPTP system.
NSP-A and Gupta
Amidst serious dispute within the party over whether to take part in the election or not, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Shyam Sundar Gupta submitted the party’s closed list of candidates contesting under the proportional system.
He reached the Election Commission in the afternoon, the national flag fluttering on his official vehicle, and submitted a closed list of 64 candidates. Interestingly, Gupta, who was sacked from the party a few weeks ago by NSP-A Chairperson Anandi Devi Singh, has put Singh’s name at the top of the list.
Meanwhile, issuing a statement Singh denounced the move by Gupta, saying that her party was not in a condition to take part in the election while the entire Madhes was agitating.
Urging the EC not to recognize the name list, she said the “so-called” list with her name at the top produced by Gupta is a fraudulent act of misusing the party flag and election symbol.
NC finalizes list at EC
Nepali Congress party leaders were busy till the 11th hour finalizing their list in a room at the Election Commission.
NC Acting President Sushil Koirala, Vice President and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel, General Secretary Dr Ram Baran Yadav and NC leader Dr Minendra Rijal reached the EC only after 4:30 pm, using official vehicles, and entered a room where Dr Rijal set to work for nearly two hours. They were the last to submit their finalized list to the EC.
The EC had made the election schedule public on January 13.
Ministers breached code of conduct
Although the EC had enforced the election code of conduct for the government effective from January 16, most of ministers from the Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist and People’s Front Nepal on Wednesday flouted it right at the EC.
Ministers Ram Chandra Poudel of NC, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Dev Gurung and Pampha Bhusal of the Maoists, Giriraj Mani Pokharel and Sashi Shrestha of People’s Front Nepal and Shyam Shundar Gupta of NSP-A reached the EC to submit the closed lists of their respective parties in official vehicles.
Even the Home Minister’s official vehicle was misused by the NC leaders.
When asked about the violation, Minister Poudel said they were using their official vehicles for official work. “But we won’t use them after tomorrow for election campaigning,” he said. An EC official opined that it would be better if the ministers were serious about the code of conduct.
Despite the request by the EC not to crowd the premises by bringing more than five people to submit the closed lists, none of the ruling parties took heed.
Even Maoist Chairman Prachanda came with a large personnel security detail to file the list. Prachanda was heavily guarded by Maoists combatants while submitting the names.
Candidates contesting under PR
From NC
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala
K B Gurung
Bal Bahadur Rai
Purna Bahadur Khadka
Harihar Birahi
Radheshyam Adhikari
Bal Dev Majgaiya
Lokesh Bhattarai
UML
Amrit Kumar Bhohora
Shahana Pradhan
Pradeep Nepal
Govinda Chaudhary (industrialist)
Shankar Pokharel
Prof Krishna Pokharel
Pasang Sherpa (NEFIN Chairman)
Dr Mangal Siddhi Manandhar
Sapana Malla (Pradhan)
Ram Kumar Jhankri
Rabindra Adhikari
Ajambar Rai
Maoist
Mohan Baidhya a.k.a Kiran
Dinanath Sharma
Netra Bikram Chand
Nanda Kishwor Pun a.k.a. Pasang
Lokendra Bista
Indra Jit Rai
Surya Bahadur Sen Oli
Jonden Ukawab
Ram Bahadur Thapa
Vikchhu Ananda
Kumar Phudung
Krishna Das Shreshta
Binod Pahadi
Kamal Baral
RPP
Lokendra Bahadur Chand
Jog Mehar Shrestha
Bishwo Bandhu Thapa
Balaram Gharti Magar
Pratibha Rana
Parashuram Khapun
NWPP
Prem Suwal
CPN-United
Pari Thapa
Comments
9 responses to “37 parties submit closed list:Some 4,000 candidates in fray”
This is the first step towards an election. But still there is a log way to go. Lets see some good step in the future too.
This list can go for many pages. but will these ppl bring peace & stability to our country? will they ensure that we will not be facing the difficulties that we are facing today?
teacher turned terroist (TTT) Pushpa Kamal has reduced himself to being Wall-President (Bhittey rastrpati) of Nepal. His hands are laden with blood of Nepalese people and it would be shcking if he or any of his murder friends eventually started leading this country. So, if any election is to take place, we should all come out and defeat the ill-intentions of these murder communists.
not going to happen as long as terai burns. finally prachande et. al getting the taste of their own medicine. words like peace, morality, justice will have no significance until people like prachanda, baburando and badal are killed in the most heinous manner.
Nothing good is going to happen as long as Pataki Girija who had immoral relationship with his own bhauju, is the PM of Nepal. Pataki Girija chadai marija for the welfare of Nepal!!
The Terai is up in revolt; the entire population of the country is totally disillusioned; and the people of the Kathmandu Vallye, our capital city, are facing ever increasing hardships created by shortages of everything; yet our great political leaders are unconcerned and only care about getting nomonated for the CA polls. The Nepali Congress, the UML, and the Maoists are all singing the same old tunes. They have not the least concern for the people of this country. Is it not time that the Peoples of Nepal now revolted against these very bastards?
Deva
terai burns in flames….more than 1 dozen armed groups terrorise the area….the capital kathmandu has had continous shortage of essential commodities….the rate of number of crimes has gone up all over the country…ppl have no faith in the government….i feel pity at the least for all the ppl who think that an election is going to make all these things vanish….foolish or naive …..hard to define….
The peoples’ revolt some years ago was expected to usher in an era of peace, prosperity, harmony, and true democracy. What hane we got ourselves into? There is neither democracy, nor the peace and prosperity which we had all hoped for. We only have everyday bunds, hartals, murders, kidnappings, and shortages of everything except monkeys in Baluatar and Singha Durbar looting the country.
The people of the Terai, the Madeshis, are now so disgrunteled that they are now openly advocating a divorce from the nation state of Nepal. The people who broke off the forefinger of King Prithivinaraya Shaha infront of Singha Durbar perhaps now realise their folly. But too late!!!
The sooner our political dictators now realise that the Madesh is lost and agree to withdraw gracefull with whatever is still intact is the only solution going forward.
Deva
The Girija has got good slap for being a RAW agent since the begining of his political career.