Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: An application has been filed with the Election Commission to deregister the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).
Advocate Yubaraj Poudel filed the application on Wednesday, claiming that the party’s registration should be cancelled because the party’s president, Rabi Lamichhane, is a non-citizen.
On January 27, the Supreme Court ruled that Lamichhane’s citizenship was invalid, making him ineligible to hold public office. Though Lamichhane restored his citizenship two days later, Poudel argued that since the party was registered while he was still a non-citizen, its registration should be cancelled.
The Chief Election Commissioner, Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, however, stated that there is no constitutional provision to cancel the registration of political parties. “An application can be registered, but the registration of parties cannot be cancelled,” Lamichhane added.
