Parties urge govt to declare suitable date for local poll by April 27 as proposed by EC

Kathmandu / Jan 14: Leaders of the major political parties have urged the government to declare a suitable date for holding the local elections by April 27 as proposed by the Election Commission (EC) earlier.

Speaking at an all-party meeting convened by the EC on Friday to discuss the National Assembly election, voter list and local level election, senior leaders of all major political parties argued that the government should not delay announcing the date for holding the local level elections by April 27.

The EC had earlier told the government that the new people’s representatives should be appointed at the local level before May 19. The EC had said that it would be appropriate to fix the date on May 28 and hold the elections in one go. “If it is not possible to hold the poll for any reason, the first phase could be held on May 28 and the second phase on June 5,” the poll body had told the government .

Ruling Nepali Congress (NC) leader Ramesh Lekhak said that the parties supported the NC’s proposal and urged the government to announce an early date for elections. He said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EC has been asked to make necessary arrangements in all the election centers and polling stations of the National Assembly election.

In the meeting, the party leaders also drew the attention of the commission to expedite the work of compiling the voter list so that all eligible citizens can vote in the local level elections.

The meeting was attended by 15 parties including Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Maoist Center, CPN (Unified Socialist) and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party. During the discussion with the parties, the EC informed the participants that it would immediately request the government to fix the date of local elections on time.