Putting speculations to rest, the CPN-UML has decided to field Suhang Nembang for bypolls in the Ilam-2 federal constituency.

The party’s secretariat meeting on Sunday also picked Daman Bahadur Bhandari as a candidate for the Sudurpaschim provincial assembly. The by-elections for the two positions will be held on April 27.

The Ilam-2 House of Representatives seat has remained vacant since the demise of former Speaker and Constituent Assembly chairman Subas Chandra Nembang last year. He died of a heart attack on September 13. The UML leader had continuously won the constituency since the 1999 general elections.

In the November 2022 poll, Nembang defeated his closest contender Dambar Bahadur Khadka of the Nepali Congress by 1,014 votes. While he garnered 30,020 votes, Khadka, who was a common candidate of the Congress-led alliance, managed to get 29,906.

Though the party’s local committee had also recommended Buddhi Khanal, Rabindra Subedi, Narendra Nath Bhattarai, Devi Chhetri and Rimple Rai, the party’s top leadership picked Suhang, who became active in the party politics only after his father’s death. A lawyer by profession, Suhang is a member of the party’s Law Committee.

“The party has picked Suhang Nembang and Daman Bahadur Bhandari. It has also decided to urge other parties to support the capable candidates,” said Pradeep Gyawali, the party’s deputy general secretary.

Together with Ilam-2, elections will also be held in the Bajhang (A) constituency of Sudurpaschim Assembly. The seat has remained vacant after Prithvi Bahadur Singh, a provincial assembly member and also the provincial minister for internal affairs and law, was killed in a road crash in June.

Though around two dozen positions at the local level also remain vacant, the commission is yet to decide when to hold elections there. One position of the chief of the district coordination committee, a chair and a vice-chairperson of rural municipalities, and 17 ward positions are lying vacant. The number of ward member vacancies is even higher. The commission is still undecided about elections at the local level as there are no clear legal or constitutional provisions for by-elections at the local level, unlike in the case of the provinces and the federal parliament.

Article 84 (7) of the constitution says that if the seat of any House member becomes vacant more than six months before the tenure expires, the vacancy is filled by the same electoral system through which the position was first held. The same applies to the provincial assembly as per Article 176 (8) of the constitution.

According to the Election Commission records, 20 parties have registered for the election in Ilam and 19 parties in Bajhang. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) will not be contesting the provincial assembly by-elections.

Against the call for support from the UML, most of the ruling parties are busy with election preparations.

CPN (Unified Socialist) leader and former prime minister Jhala Nath Khanal also wants to be in the race. Khanal, a common candidate of the Congress-led alliance, was defeated by UML’s Mahesh Basnet from Ilam-1 in the previous poll. Khanal has been trying to become a common candidate of the communist parties. With the UML picking its candidate, Khanal’s chances seem to be over.

Speaking to the Post last month, Khanal said he would be interested in the election if the major parties backed him. The party’s secretariat meeting on Sunday decided to consult with other parties before taking its decision. “Our party will decide on Monday whether or not to contest the poll and whom to field,” said Jagannath Khatiwada, the party spokesperson.

The RSP has also decided to contest the Ilam seat and is holding primary polls to select the candidate. The fourth largest party in the House is actively engaging with the people in the constituency to build its support base. The ruling CPN (Maoist Centre), which had supported Congress candidate Khadka in the previous election, has not made its position on whether to contest the poll public.

The main opposition, too, has yet to pick its candidate. In addition to Khadka, Keshav Thapa, Nagendra Kumal, and Ramesh Lingden are the bypoll aspirants from the Nepali Congress. The nominations for both positions must be filed on April 6.

Based on the proportional representation votes received by the parties last election, the UML is the strongest party, followed by the Congress and the Maoist Centre in the constituency. The RSP got over 4,000 votes to hold the fourth position. Various identity-based parties too had significant vote shares in Ilam.