UML’s leadership must be selected through competition: Surendra Pandey

Kathmandu — Vice-Chair of the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist Leninist , Surendra Pandey, has said that the party leadership must be selected through competition.

At a dialogue held on Monday at a hotel in Bagbazaar, he argued that internal competition is the very foundation for making the party stronger, and therefore the leadership should be chosen through a competitive process.

At the dialogue — attended by leaders from the camp of senior vice-chair Ishwar Pokharel, who has announced candidacy for the 11th general convention chairperson — the group leveled accusations against KP Sharma Oli, saying he has undermined internal democracy.

“Party leadership must be chosen through competition. But recently, there has been serious deviation from this process,” he said.

Pandey said that although under Oli’s leadership the party was democratized, currently this process is being “killed.”

He also said that the party has turned into a party of individualism. “UML is being transformed into a personality-centered party, which harms the party. That must change. If it doesn’t change, the younger generation will not come into the party,” he added.

He urged that the law should include a provision barring any person from becoming party chair for more than two terms.

He further argued that not only in UML but in other parties — including those that call themselves “new” — there is a lack of democratic process. He suggested that the constitution should provide a time-limit for party leadership.