Kathmandu, Sept 21: After a prolonged dispute over CPN-UML restructuring, the party has decided not to seek an immediate replacement for chair KP Sharma Oli.
Following the UML’s defeat in the March 5 House election, party leaders demanded that Oli accept moral responsibility and hand over the leadership to a younger generation in line with the spirit of the Gen Z movement.
Amid growing pressure, the UML Secretariat formed a 15-member election review and party restructuring task force under Vice Chair Ram Bahadur Thapa on May 24. It was assigned to identify the reasons for the defeat and prepare a plan for the party’s ideological, political and organisational reform.
The dispute intensified after General Secretary and task force member secretary Shankar Pokharel proposed that the leadership accept primary responsibility for the defeat and clear the way for change.
Thapa responded with a separate report opposing Oli’s removal. Central Committee member Pradeep Gyawali submitted a third report arguing that Oli alone should not be blamed.
The task force finally reached agreement on Sunday after removing the proposal for Oli to step aside. The Secretariat received the report that evening and will present it at the Central Committee meeting beginning Monday.
Task force member Leelanath Shrestha said Oli would remain chair until the next general convention. However, suggestions collected from 13 groups would be included unchanged.
Oli had repeatedly rejected “restructuring,” arguing instead for party “revival,” and publicly warned the task force against recommending his removal. He also warned that any unfavourable report would be defeated in the Central Committee.
Task force member Damodar Bhandari said members had not withdrawn their position that Oli bore responsibility for the defeat. However, they agreed not to force him out after he refused to resign.
“The chair should have accepted moral responsibility and resigned, but he did not agree,” Bhandari said. “We decided not to take steps to compel him to leave while the party is facing difficulties.”
In return, Oli agreed to two demands from restructuring advocates: convening a National Representatives Council meeting and a statute convention.
Bhandari said the two gatherings would settle the party’s structural, organisational and policy issues. The Central Committee is expected to set their dates.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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