ANNFSU holding voting to elect new leadership on Wednesday

KATHMANDU: The All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU), the student wing of the ruling CPN-UML, is set to hold elections after efforts to select new leadership through consensus failed.

The ANNFSU Election Committee released the election schedule on Tuesday afternoon. According to the schedule, nominations can be filed between 4 pm and 6 pm on Tuesday, while the final list of candidates will be published by 11 pm the same day.

Voting will be held from 10 am to 5 pm on Wednesday.

A new generation of young student leaders is now contesting for key positions in ANNFSU, following the implementation of an age limit of 32 years for office-bearers, which has rendered many senior aspirants ineligible.

Five candidates—Deepak Dhami, Prakash Paudel, Arti Bhattarai, Anjana Sibakoti, and Suraj Kadariya—are in the race for the position of chairperson.

According to ANNFSU sources, the UML leadership had proposed Kadariya as the consensus candidate. However, his name was met with strong opposition from student representatives after it was proposed by the general convention presidium. Protesters chanted slogans against the leadership, prompting the UML to agree to a voting process.