The Central Committee meeting of the main opposition CPN-UML on Sunday authorised the party’s Standing Committee to prepare the criteria for selecting candidates for the upcoming federal and provincial elections. Party Chairman KP Sharma Oli, however, will have the final say on the candidates.

The party decided to centralise all its forces for effective mobilisation to realise the party’s ambition of winning a majority seats in the upcoming polls.

The meeting that started on Friday unanimously endorsed the report presented by Chairman Oli.

Addressing the meeting at the end of the deliberation that lasted three days, Oli remarked that the party had succeeded in mustering a respectable total in the local elections in Province 2 in spite of an adverse situation.

“The UML has successfully positioned itself as a major political player, taking stand on issues related to nationality and national unity,” UML Spokesperson Yogesh Bhattarai quoted Oli as telling the meeting on Sunday.

A section of leaders led by Madhav Kumar Nepal had accused the establishment faction of choosing candidates unilaterally in Province 2. Even though the UML had said it would have a strong showing in Province 2, poll results tell a different story.

As of 6pm Sunday, the UML had won 16 local unit top positions and was leading in two places. The party stands behind the Nepali Congress, the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal, the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal and the CPN (Maoist Centre).

The meeting also saw serious discussion over whether to go to the next polls by announcing Oli as the prime ministerial candidate.

According to UML sources, Shiva Maya Tumbahangphey from Province 1, Kashi Nath Adhikari from Province 3, Ganesh Timalsina from Province 4, Dal Bahadur Ranamagar from Province 5 and Yam Lal Kadel from Province 6 wanted the party to announce its PM candidate before launching the election campaign.

UML Vice-chairman Bhim Bahadur Rawal, leading Province 7, however, suggested that the issue can be discussed in the Standing Committee. Satya Narayan Mandal from Province 2 chose to stay neutral on the proposal.

“A majority of leaders said the party should project Oli as its candidate for the country’s next executive head,” Spokesperson Bhattarai said, adding that the Standing Committee would take a decision on the matter.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of forging alliances for the upcoming elections. The party had contested solo in the last phase of local polls. According to Bhattarai, the UML will take initiatives for bringing leftist forces closer.

“We don’t rule out the possibility of alliance with the Maoist Centre but it seems difficult in the current scenario,” Bhattarai said, arguing that the CPN (Maoist Centre) believes that there cannot be two leftist forces. “The UML doesn’t think so. We are open to working with the parties having common political beliefs and ideology.”