Govt decides to hold midterm elections in two phases; PM discusses election preparation with EC

Kathmandu / Feb 9: Midterm elections will be held in 40 districts of Province 2 and Gandaki, Karnali and Lumbini provinces on April 30 in the first phase and in 37 districts of Bagmati, Sudurpaschim and Province 1 on May 10 in the second phase, according to the government’s plan.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers took a decision to this effect on Monday, according to Education Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha.

Earlier on December 20, 2020, the government decided to recommend to President Bidya Devi Bhandari to dissolve the House of Representatives and announce midterm elections for April 30 and May 10.

A case against the dissolution of parliament is sub judice at the Supreme Court and hearing is underway for the same.

Hitendra Dev Shakya appointed the Managing Director of NEA

Hitendra Dev Shakya has been appointed as the Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority by the government.The Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to appoint Shakya as the chief of the Authority. Shakya was appointed to the top post of NEA after being called back from the NEA Engineering Company by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. He was first made the acting chief of the NEA on November 9, last year.The government had appointed senior deputy executive director of NEA Lekhnath Koirala as the acting managing director after the formal departure of former Managing Director Kulman Ghising on September 15. The top post at the authority has been vacant since the retirement of Ghising, who is largely credited for bringing decades-long load-shedding in the country to an end.

PM Oli calls for moving ahead election works

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli went to the Election Commission today and acquired information regarding the preparations going on for the election to the House of Representatives.

On the occasion, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya briefed PM Oli on the overall situation including preparations for the election, the law and order and budget, among other topics. The government had on December 20 announced the date for the election to be conducted in two phases. The election will be held on April 30 and May 10 this year.

The Prime Minister visited the Election Commission today in connection with acquiring information regarding the preparations the election body has been making in the context of the forthcoming election to the House of Representatives, Prime Minister’s press advisor Surya Thapa told journalists.

According to him, the Prime Minister held discussions with the election commissioners, including the Chief Election Commissioner, on the preparations for the election, and thanked the Commission expressing satisfaction on the preparations it has been doing to that end.

Suggesting the Election Commission office-bearers to move ahead the election-related works uninterrupted, Prime Minister gave assurances that all kinds of resources would be made available for that purpose and there would not be any shortage.

On the occasion, Chief Election Commissioner Thapaliya informed that the Election Commission had given a decision regarding the dispute of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on January 24 and another application was also received on February 2.

On this topic, PM Oli had asked about election laws related to this topic, past practices and other topics.

PM’s press advisor Thapa said the discussions centred on the preparations for the election as the PM visited the Election Commission mainly to acquire information regarding the works carried out by the Commission.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, and the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and NCP leaders, including former Speaker Subash Chandra Nembang, who has been assigned responsibility to liaise on the election matters by the party. RSS