Kathmandu. The fifth convention of the Nepali Public Relations Committee Norway has been held in a grand, disciplined and democratic atmosphere. The convention has elected Paras Mani Mishra as the new president. Mishra won by securing 283 votes while his rival Saligram Aryal secured 186 votes.
A total of 444 physical and 35 online votes were cast, out of 479 votes, 10 votes were invalid. Ganesh Thapa, Chakra Bikram Shahi, Ramesh Aghimire and Giriraj Adhikari have been elected as the vice presidents.
Among the unopposed elected office bearers are Purna Bahadur Shahi as the senior vice president, Suresh Kumar Yadav and Ramesh Subedi as the general secretary, Naresh Baskota, Binod Shrestha, Krishna Bahadur Khatri as the joint general secretaries and Nirmala Pariyar as the treasurer. Nawaraj Shrestha, Ramesh Timsina, Raghav Chandra Adhikari, Bishnu Poudel, Navin Sapkota and Ghanshyam Tiwari have been elected as members.
The program was chaired by the then chairman of the committee, Jitendra Bikram Shahi. The chief guest was Balkrishna Pandey, the central representative of the Nepali Congress and the chairman of the Public Relations Committee of India. The Nepali Congress had given the responsibility of the election officer to Navin Thapaliya.
Chief guest Pandey said that employment creation and prosperity can be brought to Nepal by utilizing the skills, capital and networks of Nepalis living abroad, and stressed that the overseas Nepalis should take initiatives from their own places to promote tourism. Describing the convention as a model convention, he praised the discipline and inclusiveness.
Election Officer Thapaliya congratulated everyone for the fair, inclusive and transparent elections, saying that this time’s election was the first experience for many participants and they gained new experience in practicing the democratic process.
In addition to the discussion on amending the statute in the closed session, a proposal was passed that the Public Relations Committee should take the initiative to establish a Nepali embassy in Norway.
In addition, Paras Mani Mishra, Jitendra Bikram Shahi and Kavindra Dhakal have been selected as the members of the Mahasamiti for the 15th General Convention of the Nepali Congress. Suresh Kumar Yadav, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, Surendra K.C. and Abhishek Bastola have been selected.
In the closing session of the convention, outgoing President Jitendra Bikram Shahi mentioned that he had prioritized institutional strengthening, transparency and collaboration during his tenure and suggested that the new working committee also move forward on the same path. He expressed special thanks to the election management team, volunteers, voters and all participants.
Plans have also been put forward to organize sports events such as basketball and football on the occasion of the convention and to honor national athletes.