RSP Clarifies Inclusion of Minors in Membership Data Was an Unintentional Error

Kathmamndu-Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has clarified that the inclusion of data indicating thousands of minors as party members in its organizational report presented at the party’s first general convention was the result of an inadvertent error.

In a statement issued by the party’s newly elected General Secretary, Bipin Kumar Acharya, the RSP said that reports published by some media outlets citing the convention’s organizational report and claiming that 35,257 individuals under the age of 18 were registered as party members,were based on preliminary and inaccurate data.

The party emphasized that it is fully committed to Nepal’s Constitution, the Political Parties Act, existing national laws, and international treaties to which Nepal is a party, all of which uphold children’s rights and the principle of keeping children free from political activities.

According to the statement, the figures presented at the convention were drawn from raw data that included online membership applications which had been submitted but had not yet received final approval. Because the party’s digital membership system allows anyone to apply online, preliminary investigations found that some age discrepancies resulted from typographical mistakes, incorrect calendar selections, or other technical errors made during the application process.

The RSP said it is treating the matter seriously and has pledged to introduce stronger technical safeguards to prevent similar errors in the future. The party also announced that it will review its membership system to automatically reject applications from individuals under 18 years of age and re-verify previously approved membership records.

The clarification came after Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought an explanation from the party regarding the reported inclusion of minors as members.

In a letter issued on Monday, the NHRC reminded the RSP that granting party membership to individuals under the age of 18 would be inconsistent with Nepal’s laws and the country’s international commitments on children’s rights. The Commission requested the party to provide detailed information about its membership records as soon as possible.