Nepali Congress Central Working Committee Rejects President's Resignation, Focus Shifts to 15th General Convention

Kathmandu. The Central Working Committee meeting of the Nepali Congress has concluded. The meeting, which began last Friday (from Chaitra 6 to 8), concluded on Sunday under the chairmanship of Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma.

In the meeting, 88 members and office bearers presented their views on the agenda presented by Vice President Sharma. In-depth discussions, analysis, and reviews were conducted in the meeting.

1. Decision Regarding the President's Resignation

The Central Working Committee unanimously decided to reject the resignation submitted by President Shri Gagan Kumar Thapa to the Vice President under Article 26 (1) of the statute, taking moral responsibility for the results of the House of Representatives election held on Falgun 21.

2. Grounds for Rejecting the Resignation

The committee decided to reject the resignation keeping the following grounds in mind:

• The main reasons for the electoral defeat were structural problems and circumstances beyond control.
• It was felt that the leadership of President Thapa is even more necessary in the current complex national situation.
• Accepting the resignation carried the possibility of unnecessary instability, confusion within the party, and a drop in the morale of the cadres.
• Since the resignation was a moral and voluntary matter, not mandatory, it was deemed appropriate to respect it by rejecting it.
• It was based on the principle of collective responsibility and the principle of the necessity of stability in party leadership.
• The continuation of the reform program (Congress 2.0) initiated after the Special General Convention needs to be maintained.
• There is a need to focus the party towards the upcoming 15th General Convention.
• The decision was made unanimously by the full meeting of the Central Working Committee.

3. Preliminary Review of Election Results Passed with Amendments.

The 27-point preliminary review report presented by Vice President Bishwaprakash Sharma was discussed in detail during the meeting.
Reports have also been requested from districts and constituencies regarding the election results. The election results will be reviewed again by integrating the preliminary review and the reports received from the districts.

According to the summary of the presented 27-point report, the main reasons for the election results are as follows:

• Weakening of organizational strength due to extreme factionalism and internal non-cooperation.
• Results contrary to public expectations in the performance of the coalition government.
• Increased public anger due to structural weaknesses of past governance systems (including 32 government changes in 35 years).
• The Gen Z youth movement expressing dissatisfaction with the old political forces.
• Reactive benefits accruing to new forces due to algorithmic influence in the digital age.

The meeting concluded that all these reasons are structural, systemic, and circumstantial, not personal. The conclusion was that the new leadership formed after the Special General Convention found it difficult to resolve all these challenges within a limited timeframe (about 50 days).

4. Future Direction: 15th General Convention

The Nepali Congress is now fully focused on the 15th General Convention.
Through this convention:

• New leadership will be elected
• The statute will be amended
• Organizational restructuring will take place
• Future strategy will be determined

All the party's energy, plans, and commitment will now be focused on the success of this convention.

5. Party Reconstruction and Strengthening

Reflecting on the election results, the Nepali Congress views this as an opportunity for the renaissance and reconstruction of the party.

For this, all cadres are heartily called upon to:

• Maintain high morale
• Remain disciplined
• And strengthen party unity.

Miscellaneous
a) Regarding the escalating war in the Middle East, this meeting, realizing the imperative need for world peace, expects an end to the war. The Nepali Congress draws the attention of the government to arrange necessary security for the lakhs of Nepalis who are unsafe in the war-torn regions.

• This meeting demands that the Government of Nepal safely release and repatriate Nepali citizen Amrit Jha, who was taken into custody by the Iranian army at Bandar Abbas port in the Hormuz region during the war.
• This meeting demands that the investigation report submitted to the Government of Nepal by the investigation commission led by Shri Gauribahadur Karki, formed to judicially investigate the incidents of the Gen Z demonstration held on Bhadra 23 and 24, 2082, be made public immediately.
•    Condolence Motion

This meeting expresses deep sorrow over the demise of distinguished individuals who played an active role in Nepal's democratic movement and the organization building of the Nepali Congress while holding various positions from the tenure of the committee starting Magh 9, 2082, until this meeting, and offers heartfelt tribute to them. The meeting expresses deep condolences to all the bereaved families, observing one minute of silence for the eternal peace of the departed souls.