The Election Commission (EC) has decided to register Nepal Communist Party (NCP), nearly three weeks after the merger between the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre). The decision was made at a meeting of the EC commissioners on Wednesday.

The EC decision has given the legal status to the NCP which does not have 33 percent representation of women in the party’s central committee.

According to Election Commissioner Narendra Dahal, the commission has decided to write to all the registered political parties, calling them to ensure 33 percent representation of women in their central committee within a month.

“Our job is to guide and facilitate political parties for better management. But again, it has to be a two-way process,” Dahal said when asked if the commission’s decision set a wrong precedent. “The EC will take a decision based on the specific case if similar situation arises in the days to come.”

The Party Registration Act states that a party needs to ensure 33 percent representation of women from the central to local levels. Only 72 women leaders have been nominated in the central committee which accounts for only 16 percent of the 441-member NCP Central Committee.

According to The Kathmandu Post, the party’s 45-member Standing Committee has two women leaders, while there are no women representatives in the nine-member Central Secretariat. The NCP will have to either replace male leaders with female or increase the number of central committee by inducting women leaders to abide by the EC decision.

The name of the newly-established party had gathered eyeballs ever since its announcement as Rishi Kattel had already registered a party with the same name. The NCP had initially filed an application with an underline beneath the party name to ensure that they are entitled to obtain the same party name. As it was not practical, the party again decided to register it as Nepal Communist Party. Kattel’s party has no acronym.

The meeting of the commissioners had also convened on Tuesday on the same agenda, but the meeting could not reach to any conclusion.