Nepal’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah have signed a seven-point “unity” agreement that would keep Rabi Lamichhane as party chair while positioning Shah as the party’s future prime ministerial candidate after the next House of Representatives election, according to the signed seven-point agreement document.
The document says Lamichhane will continue to lead the party at the central level. It also says that after the upcoming parliamentary election, Shah would become the parliamentary leader and the party’s prime minister candidate, according to the agreement document.
The agreement outlines commitments to address demands tied to youth-led protests against corruption and poor governance, including support for injured protesters and families of those killed, according to the agreement document.
It also pledges a 10-year roadmap aimed at lifting Nepal to “respectable middle-income” status through policy, institutional and structural reforms, and by promoting what the document calls disciplined political practice, according to the agreement document.
The pact states that after a broader unity, the political party would retain the name Rastriya Swatantra Party, keep the bell as its election symbol, and maintain its central office in the Kathmandu Valley, according to the agreement document.
It further calls for incorporating youth activists and experienced experts into party structures, updating party documents at the Election Commission, and inviting other reform-oriented political forces to align with the bell symbol and the agenda of democratic governance, development and social justice, according to the agreement document.
The document is signed by Lamichhane and Shah and dated 13 Poush 2082 in Kathmandu.
