Nepal, Dec. 18 -- The 11th General Convention of the CPN-UML has ended as chairman KP Sharma Oli and most of his close allies have once again taken key positions in the party. However, two prominent members of Oli's faction-his close confidant and political adviser Bishnu Prasad Rimal and vice-chairman contender Guru Baral-were defeated. They were the only candidates from Oli's panel to lose in the party's top leadership elections of 19 members.

Rimal, who is considered one of Oli's most trusted aides, came fourth in the race for deputy general secretary. He received 1,091 votes. His rivals, Lekhraj Bhatt (1,452 votes), Raghubir Mahaseth (1,368 votes) and Yogesh Bhattarai (1,348 votes) all won the position. Bhatt, a former Maoist leader,...