Kathmandu (TIP): Nepal‘s main opposition CPN-UML, the largest communist party in the country, has officially split, with one of its factions led by dissident leader Madhav Kumar Nepal applying for registering a new political party after the government backed a controversial ordinance to make it easier for political parties to split.

Nepal on August 18 submitted an application at the Election Commission (EC), for registering a new political party named CPN-UML (Socialist). Earlier on August 18, on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued an ordinance to amend the Political Parties Act, 2017, aimed at easing the procedure for political parties to split. The amendment ordinance stipulates that 20 per cent or more members of the parliamentary party and the central committee of a political party can split their mother party. — PTI