Six months after its formation, the Recommendation Committee finally made public a roster of candidates for the transitional justice mechanism on Monday to solicit public opinions on the eligible candidates. The committee, responsible for nominating the chair and commissioners, published a list of 68 aspiring candidates for the post in the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission on Enforced Disappearances (CED). Forty-nine are fresh applicants while the rest are listed from among the names forwarded by civil society organizations and the committee itself.

People can register complaints against these eligible candidates with the peace committees and the District Administration Office in all the districts within five days. Five posts in each commission would be filled from among these candidates. Sources involved in the selection claimed the political parties have proposed former Speaker and Senior Advocate Daman Nath Dhungana as chairperson of the TRC and former appellate court judge Lokendra Mallik as head of the CED. The parties have also picked their candidates for commissioners even if a long list of rosters of candidates is made public.

A highly-placed source said Nepali Congress loyalist Surya Kiran Gurung and Bharati Silwal Giri are likely to get the position of commissioners. Gurung was General Secretary of Parliament when Dhungana was the Speaker. Gurung, a former Nepali Ambassador to Russia, was reportedly picked by Dhungana. Silwal is a former assistant resident representative, Gender Equality and Social Development Unit UNDP, Nepal. Lawyer Nara Kumari Gurung and Senior Advocate Lila Udasi are CPN-UML candidates. Udasi had lost to NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula in the 1994 Jhapa by-election.

Similarly, UCPN (Maoist) is throwing its weight behind advocates Shree Krishna Subedi and IB Gurung. “These names are being considered as consensus candidates, which are likely to be endorsed ultimately,” said the source. According to sources, the names were floated considering inclusiveness in the formation of the commissions and possible objection from stakeholders. Mallik represents the Madhesi constituency, while Gurung represents the Indigenous community. Bharati and Nara Kumari are women candidates for commissioners.

Meanwhile, Victims’ Common Platform has criticized the committee for moving ahead with the selection process unilaterally without addressing the concerns of the victims. The forum has drawn the attention of the committee to three writ petitions against the TRC Act and the committee, which are sub-judice at the Supreme Court. The hearing of the petitions is scheduled for January 22. It has also urged the committee to amend the provisions of the TRC Act in line with Supreme Court verdict and international practices while forming the proposed commissions to look into the cases of rights violation during the insurgency