KATHMANDU: Local elections can be held in the first week of Jestha (third week of May) only if the required laws are enacted by mid-Magh (January end), the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr Ayodhi Prasad Yadav said. He expressed surprise over the different dates that leaders have been one-sidedly announced for the local elections, and said, “Elections cannot be conducted in Chaitra (March-April) now.” “If we start holding elections on the last days of Baisakh (second week of May), we can finish them by the first week of Jestha (third week of May). Dr Yadav was of the opinion that the local elections should be conducted in different phases. He was speaking at the Reporters Club in Kathmandu today. He further stated that the Election Commission of Nepal was ready to hold elections for the federal Parliament also if the parties forged a political agreement for the same. For that, he pointed out the need for fixation of 165 constituencies by a commission. Holding elections for the provincial and federal parliaments together was also possible, according to him, but it would be challenging from technical point of view.