Kathmandu. The filing of candidacy for the election of a new working committee under the 15th general convention of the Nepali Congress is taking place today. The 7,114 delegates participating in the general convention will elect the new leadership of the party.

The election committee has started the process of distributing candidacy forms and registration of nominations by setting up an office at the National Assembly Hall. According to Raju Katawal, member secretary of the election committee, the distribution of nomination forms for the candidates started after 10 am.

The list of delegates to the convention is pasted on the inner wall of the National Assembly Hall. Arrangements have been made for those who want to file candidacy to pay the prescribed fee through the employees of Prabhu Bank inside the auditorium.

According to the Election Committee, the filing of candidacy will take place from 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm.

This time, the Congress has significantly increased the size of the Central Working Committee. The Central Working Committee has been increased from 167 members to 297 members. According to the amended statute passed on Monday, the number of office-bearers has also been increased from 14 to 26.

According to the new system, a senior vice-president and a woman vice-president have been arranged. With this, the number of vice-presidents has gone up to four. The number of general secretaries has been increased to three and one woman general secretary has been made mandatory among the three.

Similarly, two open joint general secretaries have been added. With this, the number of joint general secretaries has reached 11. The Congress has also increased the post of spokesperson and the number of joint spokespersons can be increased as per the need.

Earlier, the central working committee of the NC elected from the 14th general convention had 167 members and the number of office-bearers was 14.

The central structure of the party has also been expanded with the increase in the number of representatives and inclusive participation, the Congress said. The party claims that the new system will further ensure the representation of different classes, regions, communities and groups.