Congress special convention amends party statute amid fears of party split

KATHMANDU: The ongoing special convention of the Nepali Congress has amended the party’s statute and endorsed proposals presented by leaders Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma.

The convention approved several key changes. These include primary elections for selecting candidates at all levels, online active membership registration, restrictions on repeatedly holding the same government posts, limits on proportional representation elections, and term caps for top positions such as President, Prime Minister, Minister, and Member of Parliament.

The amendments also formalise procedures for upcoming elections. The special convention was convened in Kathmandu after more than 50 percent of representatives from the 14th general convention demanded it. However, the party’s establishment faction, led by President Sher Bahadur Deuba, has rejected the move.

More than half the delegates at the gathering have already proposed scrapping the Deuba-led Central Working Committee elected at the 14th convention, escalating factional tensions in the country’s oldest party and raising fears of a vertical split. Hours-long talks between the pro-special convention faction and the Deuba camp on Tuesday failed to yield results, despite assurances from leaders on both sides that they were seeking a resolution.

Special convention campaigners are pressing for Deuba’s ouster, while a defiant Deuba has refused to budge. On Tuesday, the special convention proceeded with the election schedule to choose new leadership. The Deuba camp dismissed the convention and all its decisions as procedural violations. Meanwhile, a Central Working Committee meeting called by Congress Vice President Puran Bahadur Khadka — appointed acting party president by Deuba in October — began and ended within minutes at the party headquarters in Sanepa.

The call for a special convention was initially made by Thapa, with Sharma’s backing, citing the need for changes in both policy and leadership following September’s Gen Z protests.

Thapa and Sharma were elected general secretaries at the 14th general convention in December 2021. As the third day of the special convention concluded, Thapa said, “The decisions taken by the convention hall will be final. We are not changing the statute for personal gain; these amendments aim to strengthen internal democracy.”