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The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (Nepali: नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (एकीकृत मार्क्सवादी-लेनिनवादी), romanized: nēpāl kamyuniṣṭ pārṭī (ēkīkṛt mārksavādī-lēninavādī); abbr. CPN (UML)) is a communist political party in Nepal. The party emerged as one of the major parties in Nepal after the end of the Panchayat era.
Khadga Prasad Oli has been serving as party chairman since the party's ninth general convention in 2014.[5] The party currently holds 79 seats in the House of Representatives, having won 26.95% of the party list votes in the 2022 general election and is the second largest parliamentary group.[6] The party was the major coalition partner in the current CPN (Maoist Centre) led coalition government[7] until withdrawing its support on 27 February. There have been four prime ministers from the party while the party has led the government five times.
CPN (UML) was the main opposition after the first election following the restoration of multi-party democracy. The party led a minority government under Manmohan Adhikari following the 1994 election. The party joined a coalition government with CPN (Maoist) in 2008 in the first elections after the end of the monarchy in Nepal and led two governments under Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal during the term of the 1st Constituent Assembly. The party also led the first government after the promulgation of the new constitution with KP Sharma Oli serving as prime minister. Oli again served as prime minister following the 2017 election.
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The party was formed in January 1991 after the merger of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist–Leninist). The party merged with CPN (Maoist Centre) to form the Nepal Communist Party on 17 May 2018 but the new party was dissolved and CPN (UML) was revived by a Supreme Court decision on 8 March 2021.[8][9] The party claimed to have 855,000 members as of December 2021 making them the largest party in Nepal by membership.[10][11]
The predecessors of the CPN (UML) were the CPN (Marxist) led by former general secretary the Communist Party of Nepal, Man Mohan Adhikari and CPN (Marxist–Leninist) led by Madan Bhandari. CPN (Marxist) was the successor to CPN (Pushpa Lal) which was founded by the founding general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal, Pushpa Lal Shrestha.[12] CPN (Marxist–Leninist) had its origins in the 1969 Jhapa rebellion. The conflict took its inspiration the Naxalite movement in India and began after land reform programs were introduced by King Mahendra in 1964.[13][14]
The two parties were constituents of the United Left Front which was formed in 1990 to protest against the Panchayat system. The front along with Nepali Congress helped restore multi party democracy in the country after the 1990 revolution. On 6 January 1991, ahead of the 1991 general election, the first parliamentary elections in the country in three decades, the two parties merged to form the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) with Adhikari serving as the party's first chairman.[15][16]
In the 1991 election, the party won 69 out of 205 seats in the House of Representatives and was the second largest parliamentary group.[16] Man Mohan Adhikari was elected as the parliamentary party leader and became the Leader of the Opposition. The fifth party congress was held in Kathmandu in January 1993 and People's Multiparty Democracy was adopted as the party line.[17] The congress also elected Adhikari as the party chairman and Madan Bhandari as the general secretary.[18] Later in the year however, Bhandari along with Jibaraj Ashrit died in a vehicle accident in Chitwan and Madhav Kumar Nepal became general secretary.[15] In November 1993, veteran communist leader Tulsi Lal Amatya's group merged in the party.[18]
Following the 1994 election, the party became the largest parliamentary group winning 88 out of 205 seats and formed the first CPN (UML) government. Man Mohan Adhikari became prime minister and formed a minority government with the support of Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Sadbhwana Party which lasted for nine months. Adhikari recommended dissolving the House of Representatives, and called for new elections after losing the support of his coalition partners, but the move was dismissed by the Supreme Court after a legal challenge by Nepali Congress.[19][20] In 1997 the party supported the minority government of Rastriya Prajatantra Party which lasted for seven months. Following disagreements about the Mahakali treaty, the party faced a split in March 1998. Bam Dev Gautam reconstituted the CPN (Marxist–Leninist) with 46 MPs from the party. In December 1998, the party supported the Nepali Congress–Nepal Sadbhawana Party government which was created to hold the 1999 election.[15][16][21]
The Nepali Congress formed a majority government following the 1999 election and the CPN (UML) became the main opposition winning 70 seats. Following party chairman Adhikari's death in 1999, general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal became the leader of the party. CPN (Burma) merged into the party on 28 June 2001 and CPN (Marxist–Leninist) reunified with the party on 15 February 2002.[22] A group led by Chandra Prakash Mainali opposed the unification and opted to reconstitute the party. The party held its seventh general convention in February 2003 in Janakpur. Nepal was reelected as the general secretary and the post of party chair which had remained vacant after the death of Adhikari was abolished.[15]
The House of Representatives was dismissed by King Gyanendra on 22 May 2002 on the request of prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. After the Deuba government failed to hold elections and to control the Maoist insurgency he was dismissed by the king in October with the king assuming executive powers to the protest of political parties including CPN (UML).[23] In June 2003, general secretary Nepal was proposed as prime minister by the protesting parties but this was ignored by the king and Surya Bahdur Thapa was appointed instead.[24][25] After Thapa's resignation in May 2004, Deuba was reappointed as the prime minister. CPN (UML) also joined the cabinet with Bharat Mohan Adhikari serving as deputy prime minister.[26][27]
On 1 February 2005, King Gyanendra declared a national emergency, placed all leading politicians under house arrest and assumed chairmanship of a 10-member council of ministers.[28] CPN (UML) along with other parties in the dissolved lower house formed the Seven Party Alliance to end the king's direct rule, reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives and form an all-party government. The alliance also opened talks with the CPN (Maoist) to end their armed insurgency and join mainstream politics. On 22 November 2002, the alliance signed a 12-point agreement with the Maoists to end the insurgency, abolish the monarchy and restore democratic rule to the country.[29][30] Following the 2006 revolution on 24 April, King Gyanendra restored the House of Representatives and an all-party government was formed under the leadership of Girija Prasad Koirala.[15][31] Later that year on 21 November, the Comprehensive Peace Accord was signed between the Maoists and the Seven Party Alliance which ended the Civil War.[32]
In the 2008 election, the party won 108 out of 575 seats to the Constituent Assembly. The party lost most of their leftist vote to the CPN (Maoist) and general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned following his defeat in both of his constituencies and was replaced by Jhala Nath Khanal. The party joined the coalition government with CPN (Maoist) following the election.[33] The party's eight general convention in February 2009 elected Khanal as the party chairman and Ishwor Pokhrel as general secretary.[34] Following the controversial sacking of Army Chief of Staff Rookmangud Katawal, CPN (UML) withdrew its support from the Maoist government.[35] In November 2009, Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was nominated to the Constituent Assembly, became prime minister with the support of Nepali Congress and Madheshi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal.[36] His government lasted for seven months before he resigned following a political deadlock amid failure to draft the new constitution.[37] Following seven months of political stalemate party chairman Jhalanath Khanal was elected as prime minister in February 2011 with support from the UCPN (Maoist).[38] He resigned six months later in August after failing to reach consensus on drafting the new constitution and completing the peace process following which the party supported the new UCPN (Maoist) government.[39][40] In November 2012 ahead of the new election, Ashok Kumar Rai broke away from the party along with other indigenous leaders and formed the Federal Socialist Party claiming that the party failed to address their concerns during the discussions for promulgation of the constitution.[41]
In the 2013 election, the party became the second largest party winning 175 out of 575 elected seats. The party joined the coalition government under the Nepali Congress following the election with Bamdev Gautam serving as deputy prime minister.[42] At the party's ninth general convention in July 2014, K.P. Sharma Oli became party chair after defeating Madhav Kumar Nepal, while Ishwar Pokhrel was reelected as general secretary.[43] After the new constitution was delivered by the coalition government, party chair K.P. Sharma Oli was elected as prime minister on 12 October 2015 with the support of UCPN (Maoist), Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal and other parties.[44] After the Maoists withdrew their support, Oli resigned in July 2016 ahead of a no-confidence vote.[45]
In the 2017 local elections, 14,099 councilors, including 294 municipal mayors and rural chairs, were elected from the party to local governments. Candidates for the party were elected as mayors in major cities, including the two largest cities Kathmandu and Pokhara Lekhnath.[46][47] The party announced an alliance with the CPN (Maoist Centre) before the 2017 legislative and provincial elections.[48] The party won 121 seats, becoming the largest party in the House of Representatives,[49] and became the largest party in six of Nepal's seven provinces.[50] After the election, the party maintained its alliance with the CPN (Maoist Centre) and formed coalition governments in the centre and six of the seven provinces. The CPN (UML) led governments in Province 1, Province 3, Province 4 and Province 5.[51] In accordance with the agreement Sher Dhan Rai, Dormani Paudel, Prithivi Subba Gurung and Shankar Pokharel were appointed as chief ministers of their respective provinces.[52][53][54][55]
In the 6 February 2018 National Assembly election, the CPN (UML) won 27 of 56 contested seats and became the largest party in both houses.[56] Party chairman Oli was elected the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives and was appointed prime minister on February 15.[57] Bidya Devi Bhandari was re-elected president on March 13.[58] After eight months of planning, the Unification Coordination Committee met to finalize plans for the merger of Nepal's biggest left-wing parties. On 17 May 2018, the party was dissolved and a new party, the Nepal Communist Party was formed from the CPN (UML) and the CPN (Maoist Centre).[59][60][8]
On 8 March 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the name Nepal Communist Party belong to the minor party led by Rishiram Kattel and the merger of the two parties was voided.[61] The Election Commission on 9 March 2021 formally split the party and the CPN (UML) was revived.[9] Four members of the House of Representatives and one member of the National Assembly for CPN (Maoist Centre) also defected to CPN (UML) during the split but were dismissed as parliamentarians following their defection.[62] KP Sharma Oli lost a no-confidence motion on 9 May 2021 but was reappointed as prime minister four days later after the opposition failed to prove a majority.[63] Chief minister of Gandaki, Prithvi Subba Gurung resigned before a no-confidence motion and chief Minister of Lumbini, Shankar Pokharel also lost a no-confidence motion but were similarly reappointed after the opposition failed to prove their majority.[64][65][66][67]
A cabinet meeting chaired by prime minister and party chairman KP Sharma Oli recommended the president to dissolve the House of Representatives on 22 May 2021 after members of his party led by former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal supported Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as the next prime minister.[68] The Supreme Court reinstated the House of Representatives on 12 July 2021 and Oli resigned from his post the next day.[69][70] Twenty-two members of the CPN (UML) voted for Deuba during his confidence vote defying the party whip.[71] The party also lost its government in Gandaki and Lumbini with Gurung losing a no-confidence motion and Pokharel resigning.[72][73] Province 1 chief minister, Sher Dhan Rai and Bagmati chief minister Dormani Paudel were replaced in August of that year after losing support within their parliamentary party. They were replaced by Bhim Acharya and Asta Laxmi Shakya respectively who were elected by the parliamentary party.[74][75]
On 25 August 2021, former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal split from the party along with 55 members of the Central Committee, 25 members of the House of Representatives and seven members of the National Assembly and formed the CPN (Unified Socialist).[76] Other leaders also broke away from the party with Hridayesh Tripathi forming the People's Progressive Party and former vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam forming the CPN (Unity National Campaign).[77][78][79] Following the split, the party lost its majority in Bagmati and Province 1 and Shakya and Acharya resigned following which the party was in opposition in all seven provinces.[80][81] The 10th National Convention of the party was held in Chitwan between 26 and 29 November 2021 with K.P. Sharma Oli being reelected as the party chair.[82][83]
In the 2022 local elections, 11,929 councillors were elected from the party including 206 mayors and rural chairs. The party lost their mayoral seats in Kathmandu and Pokhara and failed to win the mayoral elections in any of the six metropolitan cities in the country. The party formed electoral pacts with People's Socialist Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other minor parties to contest the 2022 general and provincial elections. Former deputy prime minister and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal chair Kamal Thapa also contested the election under the party's electoral symbol.[84][85][86] At the 2022 general election the party won 79 seats and became the second largest parliamentary party.[6] The party also emerged as the largest party in provincial assemblies in Province 1, Madhesh and Lumbini at the 2022 provincial elections.[87]
The party backed CPN (Maoist Centre) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal's bid to become prime minister and joined a coalition government under him on 26 December 2022 with Bishnu Prasad Paudel joined the cabinet as deputy prime minister but the coalition lasted for less than 2 months.[88] In March 2024, the party again supported CPN (Maoist Centre)'s coalition before withdrawing support for the government in July later that year.[89][90] Party chairman K.P. Sharma Oli was appointed as prime minister for the fourth time with the support of Nepali Congress on 15 July 2024.[91]
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The guiding principle of the party is Marxism–Leninism and it supports a socialist economy but within the confines of a parliamentary system of governance.[92] The party had adopted the line of People's Multiparty Democracy which was proposed by Madan Bhandari at the party's 5th National Convention in 1993.[17] The party supports the establishment of a welfare system that guarantees social security and social justice to all citizens.[93]
The election symbol of CPN (UML) is the sun which is also present in the party logo.[94] The hammer and sickle, a common symbol of communism, is also used in the party flag and logo. The party constitution determines that a golden hammer and sickle inside a red sun is the party's logo.[95]
The National Convention is the supreme body of CPN (UML) and it is organized every five years by the party's Central Committee. The national convention elects the central secretariat and the central committee of the party. The convention also discusses and approves political documents, organisational proposals and amendments to the party constitution.[95]
The Central Committee of the party is the highest decision-making body within general conventions and is responsible to the national convention. The National Convention elects a Central Secretariat consisting of a chair, a senior vice-chair, six vice-chairs, one general secretary, three deputy general secretaries and seven secretaries. The Central Secretariat along with other elected members make up the 301-member Central Committee of the party. The chairs of the seven provincial committees of the party are also ex-officio members of the Central Committee. One-third of the committee is also required to be female. The Central Committee also elects a 99-member Politburo and a 45-member Standing Committee among its members.[95]
When the Central Committee is not in session the Politburo is the highest decision-making body, the Standing Committee follows the Politburo in hierarchy and the Central Secretariat follows the Standing Committee. The National Convention also elects a Central Disciplinary Commission, a Central Accounts Commission and a Central Electoral Commission. A Central Advisory Council can also be formed by the Central Committee if needed.[95]
Party committees exist at the provincial, district, local, ward and neighborhood level. In addition to this the party has a separate special committee in the Kathmandu Valley which is in the same level as the provincial committees in the party. The provincial committee holds a provincial convention every four years and the rest of the committees hold a convention every three years except for neighborhood committees which hold a convention every two years. The convention elects the leadership and members of the committee which is the supreme decision-making body in between conventions. The party also has organisational committees for areas where the party does not have presence yet.[95]
| Election | Leader | Constituency votes | Party list votes | Seats | Position | Resulting government | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | % change | No. | % | % change | No. | +/- | ||||
| 1991 | Madan Bhandari | 2,040,102 | 27.98 | 69 / 205
|
2nd | In opposition | |||||
| 1994 | Man Mohan Adhikari | 2,352,601 | 30.85 |  2.87
|
88 / 205
|
19
|
1st
|
Minority government | |||
| 1999 | Madhav Kumar Nepal | 2,728,725 | 31.66 | 0.81
|
71 / 205
|
 17
|
2nd
|
In opposition | |||
| 2008 | Madhav Kumar Nepal | 2,229,064 | 21.63 | 10.03
|
2,183,370 | 20.33 | 108 / 601
|
37
|
3rd
|
Coalition government | |
| 2013 | Jhala Nath Khanal | 2,492,090 | 27.55 | 5.92
|
2,239,609 | 23.66 | 3.33
|
175 / 575
|
67
|
2nd
|
Coalition government |
| 2017 | Khadga Prasad Oli | 3,082,277 | 30.68 | 3.13
|
3,173,494 | 33.25 | 9.59
|
121 / 275
|
54
|
1st
|
Coalition government |
| In opposition | |||||||||||
| 2022 | Khadga Prasad Oli | 3,233,567 | 30.83 | 0.15
|
2,845,641 | 26.95 | 6.30
|
78 / 275
|
43
|
2nd
|
Coalition government |
| In opposition | |||||||||||
| Coalition government | |||||||||||
| Provincial Assembly | Election | Party list votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koshi | 2022 | 665,460 | 35.04 (#1) | 40 / 93
|
11
|
Leading coalition |
| Madhesh | 351,768 | 16.86 (#2) | 23 / 107
|
2
|
In coalition | |
| Bagmati | 594,521 | 30.69 (#1) | 27 / 110
|
31
|
In opposition | |
| Gandaki | 349,628 | 35.47 (#1) | 22 / 60
|
5
|
In opposition | |
| Lumbini | 570,921 | 30.25 (#1) | 29 / 87
|
12
|
In opposition | |
| Karnali | 183,950 | 31.83 (#1) | 10 / 53
|
15
|
Leading coalition | |
| Sudurpashchim | 274,675 | 30.64 (#1) | 10 / 53
|
15
|
In opposition |
| Provincial Assembly | Seats/Total | Party list vote % | Election | Parliamentary Party leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koshi | 51 / 93
|
38.79 (#1) | 2017 | Sher Dhan Rai Bhim Acharya |
| Madhesh | 23 / 107
|
16.86 (#2) | 2022 | Saroj Kumar Yadav |
| Bagmati | 58 / 110
|
35.81 (#1) | 2017 | Dormani Poudel Astalaxmi Shakya |
| Gandaki | 27 / 60
|
39.04 (#1) | 2017 | Prithvi Subba Gurung |
| Lumbini | 41 / 87
|
33.10 (#1) | 2017 | Shankar Pokharel |
| Karnali | 20 / 40
|
34.35 (#1) | 2017 | Yam Lal Kandel |
| Sudurpashchim | 25 / 53
|
32.99 (#2) | 2017 | Prakash Bahadur Shah |
| Election | Leader(s) | Council Head | Council Deputy | Councillors | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | +/- | # | +/- | # | +/- | |||
| 2017 | KP Sharma Oli | 294 / 753
|
331 / 753
|
14,097 / 35,038
|
1st | |||
| 2022 | KP Sharma Oli | 206 / 753
|
90
|
240 / 753
|
108
|
11,890 / 35,011
|
2,207
|
2nd
|
| No. | Prime Minister | Portrait | Term in office | Legislature | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Man Mohan Adhikari | 
|
30 November 1994 | 12 September 1995 | 286 days | 3rd House of Representatives | Adhikari, 1994 | Kathmandu 3 |
| 2 | Madhav Kumar Nepal | 
|
25 May 2009 | 6 February 2011 | 1 year, 257 days | 1st Constituent Assembly | Madhav Nepal, 2009 | Nominated |
| 3 | Jhala Nath Khanal | 
|
6 February 2011 | 29 August 2011 | 204 days | 1st Constituent Assembly | Khanal, 2011 | Ilam 1 |
| 4 | Khadga Prasad Oli | 
|
12 October 2015 | 4 August 2016 | 297 days | Legislature Parliament | Oli, 2015 | Jhapa 7 |
| 15 February 2018 | 13 May 2021 | 3 years, 148 days | 1st Federal Parliament | Oli, 2018 | Jhapa 5 | |||
| 13 May 2021 | 13 July 2021 | Oli, 2021 | ||||||
| 15 July 2024 | Incumbent | 130 days | 2nd Federal Parliament | Oli, 2024 | ||||
| No. | Chief Minister | Portrait | Term in office | Legislature | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Sher Dhan Rai |  |
14 February 2018 | 26 August 2021 | 3 years, 193 days | 1st Provincial Assembly | Rai, 2018 | Bhojpur 1(B) |
| 2 | Bhim Acharya | 26 August 2021 | 1 November 2021 | 67 days | Acharya, 2021 | Sunsari 1(B) | ||
| 3 | Hikmat Kumar Karki | 
|
9 January 2023 | 7 July 2023 | 179 days | 2nd Provincial Assembly | Karki I, 2023 | Jhapa 5 (A) |
| 8 September 2023 | 15 October 2023 | 37 days | Karki II, 2023 | |||||
| 9 May 2024 | Incumbent | 197 days | Karki II, 2024 | |||||
| No. | Chief Minister | Portrait | Term in office | Legislature | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Dormani Poudel |  |
11 February 2018 | 18 August 2021 | 3 years, 188 days | 1st Provincial Assembly | Poudel, 2018 | Makwanpur 1(B) |
| 2 | Astalaxmi Shakya |  |
18 August 2021 | 27 October 2021 | 70 days | Shakya, 2021 | Kathmandu 8(B) | |
| No. | Chief Minister | Portrait | Term in office | Legislature | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Prithivi Subba Gurung |  |
16 February 2018 | 9 May 2021 | 3 years, 82 days | 1st Provincial Assembly | Gurung, 2018 | Lamjung 1(B) |
| 12 May 2021 | 12 June 2021 | 31 days | ||||||
| 2 | Khagaraj Adhikari |  |
9 January 2023 | 27 April 2023 | 108 days | 2nd Provincial Assembly | Adhikari, 2023 | Kaski 1 (A) |
| 7 April 2024 | 27 May 2024 | 50 days | Adhikari, 2024 | |||||
| No. | Chief Minister | Portrait | Term in office | Legislature | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Shankar Pokharel |  |
15 February 2018 | 2 May 2021 | 3 years, 76 days | 1st Provincial Assembly | Pokharel, 2018 | Dang 2(A) |
| 2 May 2021 | 11 August 2021 | 101 days | ||||||
| 2 | Leela Giri |  |
12 January 2023 | 27 April 2023 | 105 days | 2nd Provincial Assembly | Giri, 2023 | Rupandehi 2 (A) |
| No. | Chief Minister | Portrait | Term in office | Legislature | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Yam Lal Kandel |  |
10 April 2024 | Incumbent | 226 days | 2nd Provincial Assembly | Kandel, 2024 | Surkhet 2 (A) |
| No. | Chief Minister | Portrait | Term in office | Legislature | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Rajendra Singh Rawal | 12 January 2023[96] | 9 February 2023 | 28 days | 2nd Provincial Assembly | Rawal, 2023 | List MP | |
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