Major English and Nepali broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu have reported that the government is willing to hold both provincial and federal elections together. Almost all newspapers have covered the issue in the front page.
Likewise, they have also given priority to the Election Commission’s call to parties for registration for upcoming elections.
Important
Government prepares to hold provincial, federal polls together
Various newspapers have written in their front page that the government is preparing to hold both provincial and federal elections together.
According to the lead story in The Kathmandu Post, the government is thinking of holding the polls together as all major political forces did not protest the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s proposal in this regard so that it would be easier for the government to meet the deadline of January 21, 2018. The Prime Minister claims doing the polls together will save money also.
Earlier, the Prime Minister had consulted the Election Commission about possibility of holding the polls in one go. The Commission had told PM that there would be some legal and technical complications; through it was not entirely impossible.
Meanwhile, PM Deuba told editors of major media houses last evening that the government would put the constitution amendment bill to vote in Parliament very soon, according to the lead story in Rajdhani.
Call to register parties for next elections
Meanwhile, the Election Commission called for applications for political party registration for the purpose of upcoming elections to elect the Provincial Assembly and the House of Representatives. The Commission has set the deadline of August 27 to get registered.
However, the new parties which have not been registered earlier cannot apply for the registration, because the Commission has said the parties which have been registered by mid-July can only apply for participation in provincial and federal polls, says a front-page story in Naya Patrika.
The parties have to submit their statutes, manifestos and audit reports for the registration. The parties have to include information about their office-bearers and election symbol in the applications.
Ignored
Election bills stuck in House
Though the government is said to have begun preparations for provincial and federal elections, two vital bills related to the polls have been stuck in Parliament, reports the lead story in The Himalayan Times.
After a large number of proposals have been registered to amend the draft laws, the bill related to provincial elections and elections of the House of Representatives are being sent to the State Affairs Committee from the full House, says the report. It means the House committee will spend few more weeks to hold detail discussions among its members so as to find consent among parties.
The Election Commission has been demanding that the government provide it with all poll-related laws at the earliest. It says the laws should be finalised at least 120 days before the polls. EC spokesperson Surya Prasad Sharma tells The Himalayan Times that the bills should be passed by mid-August to hold all polls without any problem.
Kapilbastu woman expelled from house after giving birth to daughter
The anchor story in Kantipur says a family in Kapilbastu Municipality-5 of Kapilbastu district beat up a woman and expelled her from the house after she gave birth to a daughter.
The 22-year-old woman came to her parents’ home after her father-in-law and husband beat her up recently. She had given birth to the child three months ago.
The woman has sustained injuries in ears and back. The Taulihawa Hospital has referred the case to a medical college in Bhairahawa foe further treatment.
“He used to give pressure on me before the delivery that both of us would face problems if a daughter was born,” she shared her husband’s treatment to her. But the husband claims his wife left house after some minor dispute.
Meanwhile, the accused father-in-law has been arrested.
Interesting
Three Nepalis buy a deck of playing cards every year
Every three Nepali people buy a deck of cards every year and all the cards are imported from foreign countries, according to data released by the Department of Customs.
Though playing cards is a social crime according to existing laws of Nepal, the game is prevalent among Nepalis and they spent Rs 1.465 million to buy 11.597 million decks of cards in past one year to buy the cards, a front page story in Nepal Samacharpatra says. The government earned Rs 55.307 million as revenue from the import of cards.
Though police arrest card players frequently, there is no any mechanism to control the import of cards.
China, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Britain and the United States are major exporters of cards.
