KATHMANDU, Oct 10: Vote counting for the vice-president and general secretary posts of the Nepali Congress (NC) began late Saturday evening, hours behind schedule, under the party’s 15th General Convention.
Prem Bahadur Khadka, senior advocate and coordinator of the Election Committee, said counting for candidates contesting the two posts' open categories began at 7:30 pm.
The committee had earlier held discussions with the candidates before opening the ballot boxes in their presence. According to Raju Katuwal, secretary of the Election Committee, counting is underway in 14 rooms at the party’s central office in Sanepa. The process began after CCTV cameras were installed and the names of representatives assigned to oversee the counting were collected.
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Counting had initially been scheduled to begin at 3 PM on Saturday but was delayed until the evening due to technical reasons.
The counting for the party presidency concluded on Friday night, with Gagan Kumar Thapa defeating Shyam Krishna Khadgi by securing nearly 94 percent of the votes.
Addressing party members at the central office on Saturday, Thapa pledged to take everyone along, including Khadgi and other candidates who lose in the ongoing contests.
Thapa said party members would have to shoulder greater responsibilities and that no one could evade them. While the vote count might determine winners and losers in the short term, all members would have equally important roles in fulfilling their responsibilities, he said.
Thapa delivered the message alongside senior vice-president Bishwa Prakash Sharma and women’s vice-president Pushpa Bhusal.
