All major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Wednesday have given the topmost attention to the selection of National Assembly candidates in major political parties as the candidates have to file their nominations at the Election Commission today itself for the polls scheduled for February 7. Other issues highlighted in the front page are different from paper to paper.
Important
National Assembly candidacy nominations today
The Election Commission has informed that preparations to register nominations have been over in all seven provinces, Kantipur lead story for the day informs. The Commission has informed that the nominations can be filed from 10 am to 4 pm today as designated election offices established in each province.
Earlier, the Commission had established such offices in Biratnagar, Janakpur, Patan, Pokhara, Dang, Surkhet and Dipayal for provinces 1-7 respectively. Annapurna Post informs that though capitals of provinces 3, 5 and 7 have been fixed in different cities (Hetaunda, Butwal and Dhangadhi respectively), the Commission has stuck to its earlier decision of establishing the offices in cities where provincial high courts lie.
Meanwhile, the CPN-UMl and the CPN-Maoist Centre have finalised their lists of candidates for the upper House whereas the Nepali Congress will give the final touch to the list this morning, according to The Himalayan Times. Naya Patrika has published names of the candidates from major parties.
Annapurna Post lead story comments that the parties have failed to field ‘national figures’ for the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, murder attempt convict provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange can also cast his ballots in the polls, Gorkhapatra informs.
Transitional justice mechanisms to record statements from former King Gyanendra Shah too
Janata Post lead story for the day says two transitional justice mechanisms—Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons—are likely to summon former and current VIPs in connection with complaints they received from conflict victims.
Former King Gyanendra Shah, Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal are also on the list, the report claims.
Meanwhile, the CIEDP has demanded Rs 2 million for families of persons who are yet to be traced since they disappeared during the conflict era, according to The Kathmandu Post anchor story. The Commission has already sent a letter to the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction demanding the compensation, the report informs.
Ignored
155 former lawmakers yet to return diplomatic passport
Naya Patrika lead story says 155 members of the already-dissolved Parliament are yet to return the diplomatic passport they got as lawmakers. The list includes CPN-UML Chairman and prime minister-in-waiting KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel, the party’s General Secretary Shashanka Koirala, Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav among others.
According to a law on benefits of lawmakers, they have to return the passport within 15 days from the dissolution of House; but more than 100 days have already been passed by now.
Judicial Service Commission begins selection process for district judges
For the first time in the country, the Judicial Service Commission has begun recruiting judges through an open competition, Gorkhapatra reports, adding 424 persons have filed their applications for 30 vacant positions.
Though there are 41 vacant positions, 11 will be recruited from among currently working gazetted second class judicial service officials and an internal competition will be held for 15 other positions. It means the open competition will be held for rest 15 positions, according to the report.
The Commission is conducting various examinations of the applicants from tomorrow.
Interesting
Calendar for next Bikram Sambat year ready
The Nepal government’s panel to prepare the annual calendar and decide dates of festivals, Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti, has finalised the calendar for next Bikram Sambat year, 2075, which will begin in mid-April, according to Nepal Samacharpatra.
Quoting the Samiti’s chairman Ram Chandra Gautam, the report says the Samiti will wait for consent from the Ministry of Home Affairs to make the calendar public. If the Ministry agrees, the Samiti will publish the calendar without mentioning official holidays to be decided by the Ministry later, according to Gautam.
NAC prepares to add international flights
Abhiyan says the national flag-carrier Nepal Airlines is preparing to launch international flights along few new routes. Two wide-body Airbus craft will be used to operate international flights to Tokyo of Japan, Seoul for South Korea and Riyadh of Saudi Arabia, according to the report.
NAC spokesperson Rabindra Shrestha has informed the paper that the aircraft will arrive in Kathmandu before June this year.
Currently, more than two dozen airline companies operate international flights to and from Kathmandu, according to the report.
Land prices in provincial capitals skyrocket
After the government decision to establish temporary provincial offices in various cities after naming them as provincial capitals, the prices of land in these cities have skyrocketed for last one week, Republica informs in its lead story for the day. Janakpur of Province 2, Surkhet of Province 6 and Dhangadhi of Province 7 among other cities have seen upto four-fold rise in the real estate market rates, according to the report.
