The Election Commission (EC) has amended its rules to formalize the split in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), reports The Himalayan Times on January 5. Earlier rules didn’t allow the poll panel to recognize a split in a party after announcement of General Elections. After amending its rules, the EC can now decide which faction of the NCP is authentic and which should register with the poll panel under a new name. Spokesperson for the EC Raj Kumar Shrestha said the amendment meant that the EC could hear claims and counter claims of parties’ factions about who should use the original party’s name, flag, and election symbol during the election. According to Shrestha, previous rules prohibited the EC from recognizing a splinter group as a new party even after it submitted signatures of 40 per cent of Central Committee members and the Parliamentary Party.