Parties submit Proportional Representation lists to the Election Commission

Political parties on Monday submitted their closed lists of candidates under the Proportional Representation (PR) electoral system for the upcoming federal and provincial elections scheduled for November 20.

Leaders from the parties that submitted the PR list at the Commission claimed that they have prepared the list of the candidates as per the constitutional provision.

The CPN-UML has said it has submitted a list of 110 candidates under the PR category with 32 candidates from indigenous nationalities, 34 from Khas-Arya, seven from Tharu community, 17 Madheshis, 15 Dalits and five Muslims. Of them, 57 are women.

UML has chosen not a single office bearer of the party under this category, said a party leader on the condition of anonymity. Some senior leaders including standing committee member Raguji Panta, however, are on the PR list.

“We are told that not even vice-chair Ram Bahadur Thapa or Deputy General Secretary Bishnu Rimal’s name is on the PR list,” a UML party leader told the Post. “So, this shows that senior party leaders have a high probability of contesting the election under the first-past-the-post category.”

Thapa is a former Maoist Centre leader who had defected to the UML. He was home minister in the government led by UML chair KP Sharma Oli.

Rimal, who also served as principal advisor to Oli when he headed the government, is close to the party chair.

The UML had decided not to choose the leaders, who have already become lawmakers under the PR category, again in the same category after the 2008 elections. Rimal for instance became a lawmaker twice under the same category.

A parliamentary committee meeting of the Nepali Congress held on September 14 had taken a similar decision stating that those who have got the chance to represent the party under the PR category in the 2017 elections will not be chosen again under the same category.

The PR list for lower house elections submitted by the Congress includes the party’s former vice president Bimilendra Nidhi, according to party insiders. Similarly, Arzu Rana Deuba, the spouse of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, is also on the list. Rana, who became lawmaker in the first Constituent Assembly, had contested from Kailali district in 2017. Now she has been included on the PR list, said a Nepali Congress leader on the condition of anonymity.

Former finance minister Ram Saran Mahat, Jeevan Pariyar, and Gopal Man Shrestha are some other senior leaders whose names are on the PR list for the House of Representative elections, according to leaders privy to the development.

“The PR list submitted by the party is as per the constitutional provision,” says the Congress leader. However, he declined to divulge the details.

CPN (Maoist Center) Deputy General Secretary Barshaman Pun claimed that his party has included a significant number of youths on its closed list with a view to give priority to youngsters.

“Once the entire election process is completed and the list is made public, the general public will feel that this time the Maoist party has prioritized youths in the selection of candidacy,” Pun said.

Maoist vice-chair Krishna Bahadur Mahara who won elections repeatedly under the FPTP category in the past has also been included under the PR category. Mahara has reportedly agreed to be included on the PR list “in order to give a chance to youths.”

Mahara got elected in both the first and second Constituent Assembly elections in 2008 and 2013, respectively. He also won the election in 2017. This time, Maoist district committees from Dang and Rolpa had recommended Mahara as an FPTP candidate.

Among the 110 names for PR seats for the House of Representatives submitted by the Maoist center, five are from the Baburam Bhattarai-led Nepal Samajwadi Party. Ganga Shrestha is one of them. Bhattarai has forged an electoral alliance with Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led Maoist party.

CPN (Unified Socialist) led by Madhav Kumar Nepal also submitted its PR list. Leaders from the party claimed that it has given preference to marginalized communities including the LGBTIQ+ group on the list.

“We have enlisted names of candidates according to the clusters as mentioned in the constitution,” Jagannath Khatiwada, the spokesperson of the party told the Post.

The party’s vice-chair Pramesh Hamal, Deputy General Secretary Ganga Lal Tuladhar and Secretary Nagendra Chaudhary from the party are some of the leaders included on the PR candidates list.

The House of Representatives has altogether 275 members where 165 members are elected under the FPTP and 110 under the PR systems.

Similarly, the parties select a total of 220 candidates under the PR category for all the seven provincial assemblies.

The PR list is curiously watched also because it gives an indication of the possible candidates to be fielded under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category as well.

Leaders not included on the PR list will demand tickets under the FPTP seats that are elected through direct votes.