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Kathmandu, December 14: The closed session under the 11th General Convention of the CPN-UML began late today. Although an earlier decision had set the closed session to start at 7:30 a.m. at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu, it began only after 3:00 p.m. due to a Central Committee meeting.

Prior to the start of the closed session, the Central Committee meeting amended the party statute. Earlier, the Statute Convention held in Bhadra had reduced the number of office-bearers from 19 to 15, abolishing the post of senior vice-chairperson.

However, today’s meeting again amended the statute, restoring the number of office-bearers to 19: one chairperson, five vice-chairpersons, one general secretary, three deputy general secretaries, and nine secretaries, according to UML Standing Committee member Sher Bahadur Tamang.

After senior vice-chairperson Ishwar Pokhrel announced his candidacy for party chair at the 11th General Convention, Chairperson Oli amended the statute—citing the need to manage leaders within his faction and referring to the youth movement.

With this, the UML will now have 19 office-bearers, a 45-member Standing Committee, a 99-member Politburo, and a 301-member Central Committee.

The closed session has also finalized the cluster-based representation for the 301 Central Committee members, including 19 office-bearers, all of whom must be elected through open competition. Similarly, 72 members will be selected from eight provinces including the Kathmandu Valley, at the rate of nine from each province—five from the open category, three women, and one youth. From the open category overall, 125 members will be selected, including 71 open, 52 women, and two youth.

Under the Janajati/Indigenous category, there is a quota of 25 members—15 open, eight women, and two youth. The Madhesi category has a quota of 20 members—11 open, six women, and two youth. Two seats are allocated for the diaspora—one from India and one from other countries. The labor category has three seats—two open and one woman. One open seat is reserved for persons with disabilities.

In the Dalit category, which has 12 seats, seven are open, four are for women, and one is for youth. The Tharu category has eight seats—five open and three women—while the Muslim category has five seats—four open and one for a woman. Two seats are allocated for backward regions—one open and one woman. Across all clusters, it has been ensured that at least 15 Central Committee members will be under the age of 40.

Meanwhile, the election schedule for the 11th General Convention of the UML has been published. According to the schedule, the list of convention representatives will be published and objections invited until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, after which candidate registration will begin.

People’s News Monitoring Service.