18 Industry Associations Demand Participation in FNCCI Election Following Court Order

Kathmandu. On the eve of the 60th Annual General Meeting and election of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), 18 commodity member associations have issued a joint statement demanding the assurance of their participation. They made this demand during a press conference in the capital on Friday, a day after the Patan High Court issued an interim order allowing these associations to participate in the FNCCI election.

Prakash Bhujel, General Secretary of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, stated that it is unjust to exclude them from the election process now, given that the FNCCI executive committee had formally granted them membership and they had already participated in the previous (59th) Annual General Meeting. 'We have even signed the decision-making process of the 59th Annual General Meeting; if we are called illegal now, it raises questions about the legitimacy of the previous assembly,' said Bhujel.

This dispute began in Falgun 2081. The executive committee meeting on Falgun 26 had decided to grant membership to 18 associations. However, the dispute reached the legal process after Kishore Shrestha filed a case against the decision. On Mangsir 16, 2082, the court ordered the decision to be annulled, stating that sufficient reasons were not provided when granting membership. The FNCCI and the concerned associations have already filed petitions in the Supreme Court against that order.

Even after a petition was filed on Chaitra 4 requesting that the Annual General Meeting activities not proceed until the final resolution of the case, the FNCCI called for the convention on Chaitra 5, leading 7 associations to file an injunction petition in court. Hearing that petition, the Patan High Court issued an interim order on Chaitra 26 stating that holding the Annual General Meeting without the participation of those associations did not appear to be in accordance with the law, resulting in the current postponement of the assembly.

General Secretary Bhujel remarked that the act of going to court against the unanimous decision of the FNCCI has tarnished the dignity of the umbrella organization of the private sector. He emphasized that the right to vote and be elected must be ensured for all 18 organizations, including the Association of Private Health Institutions of Nepal, the Nepal Petroleum Transport Entrepreneurs Federation, and the Nepal Yarsagumba Association. 

Stating that the membership dispute has disrupted internal unity within the FNCCI, they have warned that they will continue their fight until they receive legal and policy-based justice.