The All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) Electoral Congress is set to go as scheduled on May 5 after the Kathmandu District Court on Thursday ruled against imposing an interim stay order as demanded by Mani Kunwar-led faction.

Candidates and district officials close to the Anfa senior vice president and presidential candidate Kunwar had filed a writ petition at the court on Wednesday demanding interim stay order against the May 5 election claiming that the poll was against the statute of the football governing body. They have made Anfa and National Sports Council as the defendants. 

Kathmandu FA president Birat Jung Shahi, Kailali president Ganesh Chand, Bara’s Mohammad Sammiullah, Kailali’s Mohit Shah among others had filed petition at the court. Shahi is the treasurer and Chand a member of the current Anfa central executive committee. Both are also running for the vice president’s post from Kunwar-led panel. 

The Anfa Election Committee on April 25 had rescheduled the poll for May 5 on a 10-day notice following a Patan High Court decision that lifted an interim stay order to put the election on hold. The election was earlier scheduled for March 28 but was put on hold after representatives from Makwanpur and Bhaktapur FAs filed writ petition seeking their rights to participate in the election.

The Kunwar faction haddemanded that the election be held on 60-day notice as per Anfa statute because the election process was scrapped following interim stay order by high court. But the court on Thursday ruled that the Anfa Election Committee was eligible to reschedule the date and start the election process after Patan High Court deactivated the stay order on April 25. “While the final list of candidates was also published, it does not seem appropriate to issue an interim order,” read the verdict issued by Kathmandu District Court judge Ramesh Raj Pokharel.

Kunwar, the brother-in-law of disgraced former Anfa president Ganesh Thapa, is running for the top post with former Anfa vice president Karma Tsering Sherpa. Sherpa lately appeared as a clear favourite to win the election and his faction fears international sanction if the election is put off yet again. Anfa election was originally set for January 25 but has since been postponed four times on various pretexts in the last four months.

Anfa election set for Saturday will elect 17-member committee including a president, four vice presidents and 12 members. Pema Sherpa was already elected as member unopposed under women’s quota. Four including Birat Shahi, Ganesh Chand, Sunil Rana and Mohammad Samiullah from Kunwar panel are running for the vice president posts against Pankaj Bikram Nembang, Krishna Thapa, Bir Bahadur Khadka and Upendra Man Singh from the Sherpa faction. Altogether 29 candidates have filed nomination for 11 members. The elected committee will then appoint general secretary and treasurer.

The general assembly of Anfa have 77 votes including one each from 45 district associations and one each from 14 ‘A’ division clubs. The ‘B’ and ‘C’ division clubs will have nine and five votes respectively while four committees—players, coaches, referee and women commission—will have one voting rights each.