KATHMANDU: Both factions of the Nepali Congress (NC) are staging sit-ins near the Election Commission (EC) office in Kantipath, each claiming to be the party’s legitimate leadership.

Leaders and cadres from the factions led by Sher Bahadur Deuba and Gagan Kumari Thapa are separately holding protests after media outlets reported that the EC would decide on legitimacy on Friday itself.

As leaders from the Thapa faction arrived at the Election Commission for talks with its officials, leaders and supporters close to Deuba also reached the venue.

Security personnel stopped the Deuba faction leaders and cadres at the gate, after which they staged a sit-in outside the EC.

Meanwhile, leaders and cadres of the Thapa faction are also organizing a sit-in, demanding that the EC recognize the leadership elected through the special general convention as the party’s legitimate authority.

Earlier on Friday morning, leaders from the Deuba faction, including Acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka, met with EC officials and argued that their side was the official one. Accompanied by more than 100 Central Working Committee members, they urged EC officials to decide in accordance with established procedures.