KATHMANDU: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that she authenticated the ordinance related to the election of the National Assembly for putting to an end the dispute between the political parties on the issue and the subsequent political deadlock. The Head-of-the-State said this in a meeting with Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba at Shital Niwas today. The President's Chief Personal Secretary Bhesh Raj Adhikari was quoted in Rastriya Samachar Samiti as saying that the President expressed her confidence that the political gridlock would end with the authentication of the ordinance during the meeting with the Prime Minister this morning. PM Deuba had visited the President at the Shital Niwas. On the occasion, they held discussions on the ordinance and the latest political situation. President Bhandari authenticated the ordinance on election of the National Assembly today only. The ordinance which the government had presented to the President in the third week of November had remained pending at the President's Office for long. The election to the National Assembly could not proceed ahead in the absence of this ordinance. The Election Commission too was in difficulty to declare the full election result of the House of Representatives towards the proportional representation system due to this. The constitution stipulates for an electoral college comprising the mayors and deputy mayors of the municipalities, the chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of rural municipalities under the local level and the State Assembly members for the election to the National Assembly. President Bhandari had held separate talks with Prime Minister Deuba, CPN -UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, CPN Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal among other top leaders of the Rastriya Janata Party in a bid to facilitate political consensus among the parties on the ordinance. READ ALSO:

• Prez approves National Assembly election ordinance