Nepal's largest communist party CPN-UML officially splits

The registration of a new party by Madhav Kumar Nepal brings to end a long-standing feud between him and former prime minister K.P Sharma Oli in the CPN-UML

Nepal's main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML), the largest communist party of 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. Mr. Nepal on Wednesday submitted an application at the Election Commission (EC), for registering a new political party named CPN-UML (Socialist). Earlier on Wednesday, on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued an ordinance to amend the Political Parties Act 2071, aimed at easing the procedure for political parties to split.