KATHMANDU, Feb 10: President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday authenticated Local Level Election Act, 2017, effectively ending the prospect of holding elections of the existing local bodies.
According to the Office of the President, President Bhandari also authenticated another important election-related Act, namely Election Offense and Punishment Act, 2017. These acts were forwarded to the president after the parliament endorsed them a few weeks ago.
The political parties have remained divided over whether to hold the election of the local bodies in the existing structure of VDCs and municipalities or under the new federal setup.
As the government earlier received the report of the Local Level Restructuring Committee and the president has now authenticated the Local Level Elections Act, 2017, these developments have effectively ended the debate of holding election under the existing structure.
The president had recently authenticated the Act Related to Voters' List, 2017, and the Act on Duty, Responsibility, and Jurisdiction of Election Commission, 2017. With the authentication of two more election-related acts by the president, the Election Commission has now received four of the five important acts needed to hold the local election.
The government had earlier written to the EC to remain logistically prepared to hold local polls. The government letter to the EC, however, did not mention whether to prepare for the local polls under the existing setup or the federal setup.
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