The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) will discuss the party’s draft regulation at a Standing Committee meeting on Thursday.

A meeting of the party’s Central Secretariat on Wednesday set the agenda for the 45-member Standing Committee meeting which would cover a wide range of issues, including the government’s activities and unification of several organisations under the erstwhile CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) following the party merger.

According to NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha, party Co-chairman and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will brief the Standing Committee about his recent China visit apart from holding discussions on the contemporary political issues. The agenda for the SC meeting was set by the nine-member Central Secretariat meeting held at Baluwatar.

“The meeting will also solicit suggestions from the leaders over the party regulation,” Shrestha said, adding that the top leaders have agreed to incorporate suggestions from the SC members in the draft regulation.

A task force headed by NCP General Secretary Bishnu Poudel had prepared regulations of the party and handed it over to NCP Co-chairmen Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal last month. Also on the task force are Standing Committee members Dev Gurung and Beduram Bhusal, and Central Committee member Khimlal Devkota.

The draft has been already distributed to SC members and will be discussed at the meeting scheduled for Thursday. The party will finalise regulations based on the suggestions and recommendations made by the SC members. According to Devkota, a member of the Statute and Regulation Drafting Committee, the statute has proposed 32 departments which will support the ministries and provide policy support to the government. The central departments comprise 35 members including a chief, deputy chief and secretary. The central committee will depute chief and deputy chief, while the department selects its secretary. Each department of provincial committees will be 15-member strong and that of the districts will have 11 members.

The newly-established political party, according to leaders, is set to expedite the process to unify its organisations and give a final shape to the regulation that had been halted due to Oli’s state visit to China and Dahal’s Singapore trip for the treatment of his wife Sita Dahal.