Chief Election Commissioner Thapaliya for conducting polls in two phases
KATHMANDU, JUNE 1
Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Paudel proposed in the ruling alliance's coordination committee meeting yesterday that the parliamentary and provincial polls should be held between mid-October and mid-November.
Rastriya Janamorcha lawmaker Durga Paudel, who was present in the ruling alliance's meeting, said that Paudel informally raised the issue and almost all leaders agreed that polls should be held by mid-November.
Paudel told THT that he favoured holding Parliamentary and provincial polls between mid-October and mid-November in accordance with the constitutional provision. The fiveyear term of the parliamentary and provincial elections ends in November. In 2017, parliamentary and provincial polls were held in two phases on November 26 and December 7. Although some lawyers argue that the tenure of the lawmakers should start from 4 March 2018 when they were sworn in, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya told THT that as per the law, tenure of the lawmakers should be counted from the day the election results were announced and not when oath ceremony was held.
Thapaliya said that the government had yet to consult the EC for an election date. The EC needs at least 120 days for the preparation of election. Thapaliya said the government should decide about the polls date after analysing the security arrangement. He wants polls to be held by December 1.
"In the recently held local polls, we faced security problems in some places and we do not want to face such problems in future polls," Thapaliya said. He added that the government could hold provincial and parliamentary polls in two phases to ensure robust poll security.
Thapaliya said if parliamentary and provincial polls were held in two phases, the EC would hold first phase elections in mountain region to avoid cold weather. Himalayan districts witness snowfall in December which could affect voter turnout.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 02, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
