Kathmandu, May 23
Election Commissioner Narendra Dahal has said the Election Commission cannot hold local level elections in the units just created yesterday on the scheduled date of June 14.
The Cabinet on Monday had decided to add 22 more local units in various districts of Terai in its attempt to address demands raised by agitating Madheshi Morcha.
“We have heard that the number of local levels has increased,” Dahal told Onlinekhabar, “If we have to hold elections in those places as well, that will not be possible on June 14.”
“We just have 21 more days. We need to establish offices, deploy staff, print voters’ lists and identity cards and distribute them,” Dahal said, “Now, it is impossible to hold polls on June 14 after completing these tasks.”
“However, this is my personal opinion and the Commission is yet to make any official decision,” he maintained, suggesting that the government could still announce a new date so that all the units could go to polls on a single day.
Meanwhile, Dahal clarified that the newly formed Rastriya Janata Party Nepal has not been registered at the Commission and hence its election symbol–umbrella–cannot be included in the ballot paper for the June 14 polls.
