Oct 13, Kathmandu - Ram Hari Khatriwada has secured victory in the Nepali Congress’s 15th General Convention election for open joint general secretary, while Ajay Babu Shiwakoti is close to winning the second seat.

Nine candidates are contesting for the two positions. Of the 7,043 votes cast, 6,188 have been counted, with around 500 ballots remaining.

Khatiwada leads with 2,583 votes. Shiwakoti is in second place with 1,922, ahead of third-placed Dilliram Subedi, who has received 1,619 votes—a gap of 303.

The other candidates are Devendra Raj Kadel with 1,195 votes, Rajiv Dhungana with 1,077, Bikash Koirala with 1,008, Amrit Kumar Aryal with 913, Ramesh Prasad Dhamala with 703, and Bimalraj Chhetri with 255.

The supplied text gives conflicting figures for Koirala—1,008 in the detailed tally and 1,008 in the summary list; the report uses 1,008.