Shockwaves from the Supreme Court verdict on separate ballot papers for federal and provincial elections are being felt across the political spectrum in Nepal. Almost all broadsheet dailies published in Kathmandu on Friday have front-page reports on the fate of the elections after the court verdict. Here’s a summary of stories published on the front pages of the press on Friday:
Important
Almost all newspapers have reported on the leftist alliance’s warning to the government to not postpone the elections taking the court order as an excuse.
Kantipur and Annapurna Post say the court order has ruffled the alliance. Similarly, Nagarik quotes Maoist leader Prachanda’s warning that Parliament will be resuscitated if the government postpones elections.
All eyes on Ayodhee
Although the Supreme Court’s deadline for the Election Commission to submit its progress report is just a few hours away, the poll body has not issued a definitive statement on the fate of the elections. While some papers hint at preparations to postpone the elections, others say that the Commission can print ballot papers on time to adhere to the court order, as well as conduct polls on time.
Naya Patrika says the Election Commission is ready to conduct elections on time even if it has to print separate ballot papers for the provincial and federal elections. The report quotes an EC official to say that the Commission can print separate ballots on time, but the additional workforce and ballot boxes needed for the purpose is its main headache. The Himalayan Times says the EC is undecided on FPTP ballot papers. Similarly, Republica quotes CEC Ayodhee Prasad Yadav as saying that the commission is still undecided on the issue. Rajdhani says printing of ballot papers has been put on hold. Although the commission says the printing of FTP ballots, which was supposed to begin on Friday, was postponed because it has not finished printing PR ballots, it is learnt that the decision was taken in view of the court order.
The Kathmandu Post also says that while printing of new ballot papers is not a problem for the commission, adding ballot boxes to each polling centre and then deploying more poll officials than was planned poses a severe challenge.
Ignored
Qatar to fix minimum wage
Qatar has emerged as one of the top Nepali labour importing countries in the world. With the Gulf state hosting the World Cup Football in a few years, the construction sector there has boomed and thousands of Nepalis have found jobs. But reports of exploitation and sub-human living conditions for migrant workers in Qatar have been doing the rounds for a long time. The Qatar government on Wednesday decided to set a minimum wage for migrant workers, says Kantipur. The paper says that the decision will directly affect more than 400,000 Nepalis living in Qatar. The report says the Qatari government has also set up an insurance fund to pay migrant workers who are laid off by their employers.
Hydro license controversy
Nepal’s government has taken a series of controversial decisions in the hydropower sector in the last few months. While then Energy Minister Janardan Sharma awarded the much-awaited Budhigandaki project to a Chinese company without any competition, the present government also issued a survey license for the Tamakoshi project in a similar fashion. Annapurna Post says that the government, which has been issuing licenses to foreign companies so easily, has however made it difficult for the publicly-owned Nepal Electricity Authority to get permits.
Interesting
Temporary police to get Rs 21,822 in salary
Karobar reports that the members of the 18,268-strong temporary police force will receive a monthly pay package of Rs 21,822. They will also receive food allowance ranging from Rs 5,000-11,000. Similarly, they will be insured for Rs 200,000. They will receive a one-time clothing allowance worth Rs 7,100.
