Kathmandu, February 1:

Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokhrel today said the Election Commission (EC) will have to start preparing for the constituent assembly elections all over again following the recent political developments.

“Following the turn of events after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s statement on Wednesday, the preparations for the polls will have to be restarted,” he told journalists at his office.

He also said that the EC must now have several new legal provisions as “we should understand that more serious issues are coming our way.” Though he said that the government may take its time as it has to first resolve the current crisis, Pokhrel added that the sooner the new necessary laws come, the better. “Otherwise planning and preparing for the polls will be very difficult and may not be done in time.”

Earlier, a Norwegian expert on electoral process, Kare Vollan, made a presentation on various aspects of inclusive elections in Nepal.

According to him, the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system of Proportaional Representation gives a good result with accountability and fair representation even of small groups, thus making everything more inclusive.

He added that it supports geographical representation and makes boundary delimination less important.