SYDNEY —  Thirty two Non Resident Nepali Association (NRN) members including Ganesh Gautam have filed a case at the Melbourne-based high court saying that the leadership violated election code of conduct while holding elections last month, SBS Nepali reported.

The NRNA held its national elections across Australia’s capital cities and territories on 6 July 2019, with candidates vying for a two-year term.

The complainants in the petition have argued that the leadership did not follow election rules, protect confidential details of the members and behaved irresponsibly during the elections.

The team in a letter to newly elected President Notu Ghotane warned him to administer oath of office and secrecy only after the investigation into the allegations.

However, the concerned leadership conducted oath-taking ceremony on August 11, despite repeated warnings.

“We are obliged to move the court after the leadership deviated from the set goal, transparency, accountability and loss of professionalism within the NRN organization,” Gautam, a NRN member, told , adding, “Members of NRN organization didn’t have any option except to take recourse to legal option as their voices were either suppressed or ignored by the leadership.”, Khabarhub reported.

“Even though the NRN organization was created with the aim of solving problems and challenges of all the non-resident Nepalese scattered in different parts of the world, some members are bent on using this organization for their personal gains converting it into a political organization”, reads the petition.

However, election committee has claimed to have made no mistake in the matter.