Kathmandu, June 27
The Election Commission has asked the government of Nepal to introduce relevant laws on time if it wants to conduct local level elections by mid-December, 1016 (Mangsir, 2073).
EC officials said during a meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and some other ministers that EC can conduct elections by the third week of Kartik, 2073 (the first week of November, 2016) if the government can enact governing laws on time.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhi Prasad Yadav and Commissioner Ila Sharma said this in response to PM Oli’s queries on election preparations. PM Oli, according to Law Minister Agni Prasad Kharel, wanted to know what government assistance the EC needed to conduct three elections — local, provincial and federal — within 1.5 years.
In response, CEC Yadav said EC is always ready for elections and briefed PM Oli about administrative and technical preparedness as well as the human resources scenario. Yadav, however, said government should furnish on time the number of local bodies, a report on provincial boundaries and laws governing local-level polls.
He said EC can conduct local-level elections by Kartik-end (mid-November) or by the first week of Mangsir if the government can produce the report and introduce relevant laws ‘on time’.
On his part, PM Oli assured EC officials the government will introduce relevant laws and provide EC with other resources as early as possible.
The government has announced that it will conduct local-level polls by around mid-December, 2016, provincial elections within Baishakh-Jestha, 2074 (about 10 months from now) and polls for federal Parliament by mid-December, 2017.
