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The Shekhar Koirala faction staged a sit-in at the party headquarters in Sanepa on Wednesday arguing that party President Sher Bahadur Deuba submitted the closed list of the Proportional Representation category to the Election Commission without holding discussions with other leaders. The Koirala faction staged the sit-in demanding equal opportunities and justice in the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly. They have demanded that the closed list be corrected at the earliest. The Koirala faction said that they should get at least 40 percent of the total tickets to contest the elections. On Tuesday, party spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat had said that the list was submitted to the Elections by holding consultations with all the leaders. Earlier this morning, a meeting was held among the party office bearers in Baluwatar to address the demands of the Koirala faction.    

Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr. Thomas Prinz and Mrs Anuza Prinz organized a program to celebrate the Day of German Unity and the 35th anniversary of the Kathmandu Branch Office of the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, at their residence on Tuesday. Over 400 people took part in the program. This year Heidelberg University’s South Asia Institute (SAI) is celebrating its 60th anniversary and its Kathmandu Branch Office is celebrating its 35th anniversary. SAI has played an important part in promoting and organizing research in Nepal in this period and will continue the academic cooperation in future as well. Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun was invited as the chief guest for the event. Ministers and secretaries from various ministries of the Government of Nepal, leaders of political parties, heads of Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions, civil society members, Human Rights advocates, businessperson, media person and people from various walks of life were invited in the program, read a statement issued by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kathmandu. In his welcome speech, ambassador Prinz said, “Our bilateral relations with Nepal this year were marked by the German Government’s decision to continue the development cooperation with Nepal recognizing the good progress Nepal has made in the last years in political and socio-economic development sector” In 1989, the so called “Berlin wall” came down – the wall which had been dividing the Eastern and Western part of Germany since 1963. The “Berliner Mauer” was designed to physically prevent disaffected East Germans from fleeing to the West. The Peaceful Revolution of 1989 led to the opening of the border on November 9, 1989, which for the first time after 28 years allowed Germans to freely move in the whole of the country. It led to a new form of encounters between the East and the West, and it re-united the whole of Europe.

Nepali Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that the closed list of Proportional Representation category was prepared by holding discussions with all the leaders. He said so by organizing a press conference at the party office on Tuesday. Some leaders of the establishment faction have expressed their dissatisfaction with the list submitted to the Election Commission. “Desires of all the leaders may not have been fulfilled,” he said, “But, I hope that they will make the candidates of Nepali Congress and ruling coalition victorious. The new government will be formed under the leadership of Nepali Congress if that happens. This is the democratic process.” The Congress leaders said that the list was prepared by holding discussion with the office bearers, former office bearers, Parliamentary Board and leaders of all the seven provinces among others. He said that the party had not discriminated any one while preparing the list. Talking to journalists at the party office on Tuesday, Guru Raj Ghimire of the establishment faction said that the party had done injustice while preparing the list of Proportional Representation category. “This means, we do not need our names to be included in the list but justice. We will wait till the correction of the closed list. We are ready to face action but will not remain silent,” he said.  

A meeting of the ruling coalition has begun to finalize seats sharing in the elections to the members of the House of Representatives and Province Assembly scheduled for November 20. Vice-Chairperson of Rastriya Janamorcha Durga Poudel said that the meeting of the ruling coalition has commenced at Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar to discuss the agenda of seats sharing among the coalition partners. Top leaders from the CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal and Janamorcha are also attending the meeting. Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba initiated the meeting. Likewise, a separate meeting of the NC office-bearers is also taking place at the PM residence in Baluwatar for internal discussion of the party. The political parties have stepped up their discussions with the scheduled day for finalizing the closed list of Proportional Representation (PR) and filing candidacy for first-past-the-post electoral system coming near.