KATHMANDU, Jan 22: The ruling coalition has decided to hold consultations with the Election Commission (EC) and legal experts on the uncertainty of the constitution and the law regarding the local level elections.
The leaders of the ruling alliance have reached an agreement to recommend the government to fix the date of local elections within two days after taking the opinion of experts.
A meeting of the high-level political coordination committee held at the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s official residence in Baluwatar on Friday suggested that the separate provisions in the constitution and law could lead to complications in the coming days and that it is better to move ahead by clearing any confusions.
“There is a provision to hold elections within six months after the tenure of the working people’s representatives come to an end as per the constitution. However, the Election Act states that the elections should be held two months prior to the end of the representatives' tenure,” Deputy Chairman Durga Poudel of Rastriya Janamorcha party said. “A decision will be made after consulting with constitution and legal experts on which rule to follow,” she said.
According to Article 225 of the constitution, the local level election should be held within six months after the term of the representatives expires. However, as per the local level Election Act 2073 BS, elections should be held two months before the end of the representatives' tenure.