Kathmandu, January 24
Nepal’s ruling coalition partner Madheshi Morcha, an alliance of Madhesh-based parties, has said it wants the government to first get a constitution amendment to address its demands passed, then prepare for local elections.
Morcha leaders have told the Prime Minister, who recently announced that local elections will take place in May, that the alliance will take part in elections if the amendment is not passed.
The Prime Minister has invited leaders of the Nepali Congress, and the Madheshi Morcha to discuss the amendment, and possible dates for the local elections, sources say. During the meeting, the Morcha is expected to seek the Prime Minister’s stance on the amendment.
The Morcha has also not accepted the report prepared by the local body restructuring commission. The government plans to implement the report to hold local elections.
According to a Baluwatar source, the Prime Minister has proposed that the heads of the villages and cities be excluded from the electorate that will vote for the upper House of Parliament. The Prime Minister believes that this would be enough to get the Morcha onboard for local elections.
