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Kathmandu Tuesday January 22, 2002 Magh 09, 2058.
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Local election likely to be
postponed for a year
By Yuvraj Acharya
KATHMANDU, Jan. 21:The local election, which is
supposed to be held in mid- July, is most likely to be postponed for one year, a Cabinet
source said.
It will not be possible to hold the local
election in the present security situation, a senior government official said, on
condition of anonymity. "If we look at the current state of law and order situation
in the country, the election for the local bodies cannot be conducted in time," he
said.
But Minister for Information and Communications
and spokesperson of the government, Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, said the government has not
yet taken up the issue. "The issue has not been discussed at the cabinet level
yet," he told The Kathmandu Post on Monday.
The date for the election is usually announced
three months in advance. Considering the election culture, the date would not be announced
till the end of this month, but possible extension of the state of emergency till May 23,
which the Prime Minister has already hinted, leaves no time for the Election Commission to
hold the polls.
However, the Election Commission is fully
prepared for the election. "We can hold the election if the government provides us
the logistic support and security," said Shyam Prasad Mainali, spokesperson at the
Election Commission.
"We have no problem in holding the election
since we have already updated the voters list," said Mainali. "But it is the
government which fixes the election date."
The election is held every five years for all
the 75 district development committees, one metropolis, three sub-metropolis, 58
municipalities and more than 3913 village development committees.
The Election Commission is preparing a letter to
the government asking the latter to fix the election date, Mainali said.
But Yoddha Shah, Secretary at the Cabinet
Secretariat, said that it has not yet received such information from the Commission. Even
the Home Ministry, which is the representative of the Commission at the district level,
has also not thought about the matter. "We have not yet discussed the matter with the
Commission or at both the bureaucratic and political level," said Keshav Raj
Rajbhandari, Secretary of the Ministry.
The ruling Nepali Congress and the main
opposition Communist Party of Nepal (UML) are making up their minds to extend the term by
one year as per the existing law.
A member of the parliamentary and local units
department of Nepali Congress said that the election could not be conducted this year
since most of the party cadres have left their villages due to the fear of the Maoists.
Rajendra Prasad Pandey, head of the local units
department of CPN (UML), claimed that the NC government can not hold the election this
year since the law and order situation has not yet improved.
"Unless there is dramatic change in the
present situation, there is no sign of election being conducted in time," Pandey
said. "We are ready for the election if the government ensures fair and free
election."
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