49 of RSP’s 99 elected central members are women (Full list)

Kathmandu, June 26

Nearly half of the elected central committee members of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) are women.

Of the 99 elected central committee members, 49 are women, representing 49.49 percent.

Thursday’s election saw 384 candidates in the running. According to the results announced that night, men and women were elected to the central committee in nearly equal numbers.

Under the party’s statutes, 99 central committee members are elected. The party chairperson will nominate the remaining 51. All elected central committee members from Bagmati Province are women.

Nepal’s constitution and the Political Parties Act require at least 33 percent women’s representation in every party committee.

The fact that women won more than 75 percent of the geographic seats and around 40 percent of the open competitive seats signals a strong assertion of women’s leadership at the heart of the party’s policymaking.

Since RSP’s full central committee is set to have 158 members, the question of how the party will balance overall ethnic and regional inclusivity in nominating the remaining 51 members has become a subject of interest.

The 49 women elected to RSP’s central committee:

Sobita Gautam

Tosima Karki

Ranju Darshana

Nisha Dangi

Indira Rana Magar

Rima Bishwokarma

Samikchya Baskota

Gita Chaudhary

Lima Adhikari

Prakriti Dhakal

Tika Sangroula