Kathmandu, October 12
The Election Commission has barred murder convicts Resham Chaudhary and Laxman Tharu from contesting the House of Representatives elections.
The court has found both of them guilty of the murder of some police personnel in Tikapur of Kailali in 2015. Whereas Chaudhary is serving his sentence at Dillibazaar Prison in Kathmandu, Tharu is “absconding” following his conviction.
The two had filed their nominations on behalf of the Nagarik Unmukti Party, founded by Chaudhary under his wife Ranjita Shrestha’s leadership, in Bariya-2 and Kailali-5 constituencies.
In response to complaints received by respective returning officers, the officers decided they do not meet the criteria to run in the polls as per the House of Representatives Election Act, 2017, as it bars people convicted of a criminal case and serving the sentence from running the elections. They, however, can contest after two years of the end of the sentence.
Resham Chaudhary was accused of the murder but was yet to be convicted when he ran and won the 2017 House of Representatives election in Kailali.
Despite being elected, he remained on the run for many months before surrendering to the court and being sent to jail, thereby losing the lawmaker’s position.
