Kathmandu, Nov 4: The Election Commission has prepared a draft amendment to the Political Party Related Act that would make it easier to split political parties from the parliament. This comes amid discussions about the government potentially introducing an ordinance to facilitate party splits.
The draft amendment includes a provision allowing 20% of the members of a central committee or federal parliament from any party to form a separate party.
After discussions with political parties and stakeholders, the Election Commission has drafted the amendment bill. Under the proposed law, a political party can be split if 20% of its central committee members or federal parliament members agree.
Previously, the law required 40% support from both the parliamentary group and the central committee for a split. If the proposed bill is passed as is, splitting any party would become significantly easier.
Additionally, the draft retains the previous requirement that a party must meet a threshold to gain national party recognition. However, a new provision has been included stating that any party must nominate candidates for at least 33% of seats in elections at all three levels.
The Election Commission is preparing to send the draft bill to the Ministry of Home Affairs soon.
Some leaders of smaller political parties have urged the government to introduce an ordinance that would make party splitting easier. Leaders from the CPN (Unified Socialist), Janamat Party, Samajwadi Party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party have asked the government to proceed with the ordinance. Although the government had initially planned to introduce it based on their requests, it later backed down due to anticipated opposition.
With the Election Commission now having drafted the bill with more lenient provisions, it has become easier for the government to proceed. #election #party
