Election Commission urges govt to fix local-level election dates

The Election Commission has urged the Government of Nepal to fix the date of the upcoming local elections as soon as possible. Stating that the task of fixing the date of local level election on the basis of the current constitutional and legal provisions has been delayed, the task of election management has become complicated due to practical and technical reasons.

The commission has requested the government to fix the date as per sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Local Level Election Act, 2017, according to a press release issued by the commission today. Emphasizing that the political parties should hold the local elections on time, he reminded that the commission should be in a state of full readiness and has been in touch with the government to hold the elections on time.

The suggestion was made in a meeting between the officials of the commission and the representatives of 16 political parties regarding the pre-preparation work done in the context of the upcoming local level election on December 12 and to consult the Government of Nepal to fix the date of the local level election.

As the Election Commission normally needs 120 days for election management for local level elections, it has been informed that it is continuing the work of compiling voter list, reviewing and determining the polling stations and other necessary preparations for holding the election. If the date of the election is fixed as proposed by the commission, it is mentioned in the release that the commission is preparing to hold the local level election by mid-April 2079 BS.

Based on the provisions of the Local Level Election Act, 2073 BS, the term of all the elected officials at the local level will end on June 15, 2079 BS. The commission has clarified.

According to the provisions of Article 4 of the Local Level Election Act, 2073 BS, before the expiration of the term of the local level, the commission officials met Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for the first time on November 25 and informed him about the constitutional and legal provisions regarding the upcoming local elections.

According to a press release issued by the spokesperson of the commission, Shaligram Sharma Poudel, it has been proposed to fix the date for holding the local level election on Wednesday, April 29 at the same time. The commission had also proposed that if for some reason it was not possible to hold the election in one phase, the first phase would be held on Wednesday, April 29 and the second phase on Thursday, April 22.