KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 24

The Election Commission has proposed to the government to hold local elections on April 27.

Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya and other commissioners of the EC met Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and advised him to hold local polls on one date, if possible. In case that is not possible, the local level elections can be held on April 27 and May 5, according to a press release issued by the Election Commission.

Deuba told EC office bearers that he would take a call on that after discussing the EC proposal with political parties.

The tenure of local government representatives will end on May 19.

The EC stated in its release that as per Article 225 of the constitution, the government can hold civic polls six months after the end of the local governments' tenure, but since there is no provision in the Local Election Act about the conduct of local governments after the expiry of their tenure, it would be appropriate to hold local polls two months before the expiry of the local governments' tenure.

The Local Election Act stipulates that the government can hold local polls two months before the expiry of the local governments' tenure.

The EC also advised the government to fix local election date in such a manner that it will have at least 100 days for the preparation of local polls.

EC office bearers told the PM that it would be appropriate to hold local polls across the country on one date to conduct polls in an economical way and avoid the possibility of one region's election results adversely impacting results of other places.

The EC also advised the PM to use voting machines in the local polls.

EC office bearers also informed the PM of its preparation to hold election for 19 members of the National Assembly on January 26. As many as 2,025 voters - 1,493 local representatives and 532 provincial assembly members - can vote for 19 NA lawmakers.

Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Dilendra Prasad Badu, and Minister of Communications Gyanendra Bahadur Karki were also present in the meeting.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 25, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.