KATHMANDU: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has decided to adopt a policy of “training and testing” in order to field competent and ideologically clear leadership in the upcoming local level elections.

Under this system, any party member aspiring to become a candidate will be required to pass two key internal stages within the party’s structure.

To assess candidate eligibility and enhance their capacity to run local governments, RSP has made it mandatory to complete the ‘Candidate Club’ and the ‘Leadership Academy’ process.

The Candidate Club will serve as a common platform for potential aspirants, where preliminary registration of interested members will be conducted. Their public image, social contributions, and overall profile will also be evaluated at this stage.

Similarly, through the Leadership Academy, members will receive specialized training on local governance, the constitution, development planning, and the party’s policies and vision. Only those who pass the post-training examination or evaluation will be considered eligible to receive an official election “ticket” to compete in the polls.

Earlier, a draft report on the party’s local election candidate selection framework (2026) had been submitted to the party secretariat meeting by the committee responsible for designing the selection process. It was handed over to party chairperson Rabi Lamichhane.