Kathmandu, October 5
The Nepali Congress has proposed a clear policy of not forming alliances with other political parties before any future elections.
In the political proposal presented by party President Gagan Thapa at the ongoing 15th General Convention in Kathmandu, the party has made a firm commitment to contest elections independently under its own tree symbol.
The Congress concluded that alliances with other parties in past elections weakened its identity and connection with voters, prompting it to adopt a policy of contesting elections on its own.
The document states, “We remain firmly committed to contesting elections without pre-election alliances, with our own candidates and programmes under the tree symbol.”
The section on political conduct, which outlines what the party will and will not do, also makes clear that the party will not allow its identity to depend on pre-election alliances or electoral arithmetic. The Congress has declared that it will compete with its own symbol, programmes and candidates and strive to become capable of winning elections.
No power-sharing for government positions
The Congress has adopted a policy of cooperating with other political parties on national issues without turning such cooperation into a transaction for power.
The document states that cooperation may be necessary on issues such as protecting the Constitution, disasters, national security, justice and public interest, but such cooperation should not be turned into the sharing of government power or institutional positions.
The party has committed not to treat the exchange of positions, influence or privileges as political cooperation.
Right to reject and voting from abroad
For electoral reform, the Congress has proposed bringing into public debate the option of “no vote”, allowing voters to reject all candidates or indicate that they do not wish to vote for any candidate.
The proposal also calls for reforms aimed at ensuring clean and less expensive elections and improving voting access for citizens living abroad or outside their permanent electoral constituencies. The party has also said it will bring issues such as rotating reserved constituencies and improvements in representation into public debate.
