Nepali Congress sets October 5 nominations as Deuba urges boycott

Nepali Congress's Central Election Committee, which organises the party's internal vote, has set Monday, October 5, Ashoj 19 on the Nepali calendar, as the day to register nominations for the Central Working Committee, the panel that leads the party between conventions. Registration runs from 2pm to 6pm that day, DC Nepal reported. Party Vice President Bishwa Prakash Sharma told OnlineKhabar there will be no panel system this year. Delegates will vote for individual candidates of their choice, not a faction slate, he said at the convention venue in Khulamanch. About 7,500 delegates are expected to take part, Setopati reported.

That is the story most outlets are telling today. It is only half the story. Nepali Congress, one of Nepal's oldest political parties, is not holding one convention. It is holding two, two months apart.

Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who led Nepali Congress before the January special convention and now leads a rival faction, has urged party leaders and members not to attend the October convention at all. He called it the product of an "illegal special convention" and warned that going ahead without the majority of leaders would weaken the party, Desh Sanchar reported. Deuba's own camp has scheduled a separate general convention for Mangsir 21 to 23, which falls in roughly December 7 to 9, Desh Sanchar reported.

The split goes back to a special convention in January, where Gagan Thapa, now Nepali Congress president, won control of the party's leadership. Deuba's side challenged that vote in court. The Supreme Court ruled in Thapa's favour in April, Kathmandu Post reported. Deuba and Purna Bahadur Khadka then filed review petitions. In August the court agreed to review its own ruling, the paper reported on August 7. Thapa stays president until a fresh ruling, it reported. Kathmandu Post reported in August that Deuba's supporters wanted the entire convention process postponed until that review was decided.

The review has not stopped Thapa's side. The establishment faction scheduled its 15th General Convention for October 2 to 5, with ward level conventions scheduled from September 19, Kathmandu Post reported. Deuba's own ranks are thinning at the same time. More than 30 leaders who had backed Deuba are now moving toward Thapa's committee, after the party agreed to accommodate members earlier elected under Deuba's leadership, Kathmandu Post reported. Purna Bahadur Khadka, Nepali Congress's former acting president, led Deuba's faction for several months. He has since moved toward Thapa's committee, Kathmandu Post reported.

What the coverage missed

None of today's reports on the October 5 nomination date say whether the roughly 7,500 delegates include Deuba's camp at all. Nepali Congress has not published a breakdown by faction. Deuba's side is not filing nominations on October 5. It is building toward its own convention two months later instead.

The nominations are also going ahead while the Supreme Court reviews the ruling behind them. The court agreed in August to review its April verdict that backed Thapa's committee, Kathmandu Post reported on August 7. DC Nepal, Ekantipur, Setopati and OnlineKhabar did not raise this in reporting the nomination date.

What we still do not know

• Whether Deuba's side will ask the Supreme Court to block or unwind decisions taken at the October convention before its own December gathering. The court's registrar and Deuba's lawyers could answer this.
• How many of the party's roughly 7,500 delegates each faction now counts as its own. Nepali Congress's Central Election Committee has not published a breakdown.