Kathmandu, August 6:

Close on the heels of the appointment of chairmen and deputy chairmen to 47 District Development Committees (DDCs), the government is “working” to appoint mayors and deputy mayors in 58 municipalities who will be reuired to fulfil the responsibility to conducting elections to those municipalities. The government is “busy doing its homework” to appoint the mayors and deputy mayors “very soon”, most probably, within fifteen days, in all the 58 municipalities, an official source disclosed. The appointment move is aimed at providing an “effective administrative system to provide proficient and transparent” service to the people, the source said. He, however, elaborated that the primary objective of the appointees would be to conduct municipal elections within this year, as announced by the King. The erstwhile government headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had dissolved the local bodies in 2002 following the expiry of their five-year term. Later, the mayors and deputy mayors who were appointed by the then Surya Bahadur Thapa-led government in November 2003 were replaced by government officials in 2004 following the decision of the then Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government.

“The process (of appointing mayors) has begun,” another source claimed, adding: “The appointees could possibly be picked from independent politicians, former Panchas and people supporting political parties and who are ‘interested’ in taking posts but having ‘grudges’ in their party-folds.” Such parties include the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP), and even some from the seven-party alliance. The government is also planning to appoint nine Ilaka members in each district to work as members of the DDCs. The source, however, expressed apprehension on revealing the names of the to-be-appointed mayors and deputy mayors. Sources claimed that there was understandable

‘stampede’ among the local leaders of the RPP for the plum posts.