"The EC had formally requested the government to make amendments to the interim constitution and acts related to the CA polls, but the government has not responded yet," Minister for Land Reforms and Management Chandra Dev Joshi quoted Acting Chief Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety as saying at a meeting with the prime minister and other cabinet ministers at the EC office on Monday. [break]
Talking to media persons after the meeting, Uprety said the EC would not be able to hold the election if the amendments and other necessary laws aren´t made by July 22. "The commission needs at least four months´ time after the legal and constitutional difficulties are removed," he added.
Spokesperson of the EC Sharada Prasad Trital explained that the commission will have to prepare 25 directives after the government cleared the legal hurdles.
Neel Kantha Uprety, acting chief Election Commissioner, briefs PM Bhattarai and DPM Gachchhadar. (Photo: Dipesh Shrestha)
When asked about participation of political parties in the election, Uprety said that participation of all parties in the polls was the second pre-condition after the necessary amendments. "The government should forge consensus on the participation of all parties in the election," he added.
In response, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai asked the EC officials to prepare for the polls saying the government was ready to provide all the necessary support.
"The government has been working to forge consensus among political parties regarding clearing legal hurdles," Uprety quoted Bhattarai as saying during the meeting.
The EC had invited PM Bhattarai and other cabinet ministers to hold discussion on the preparations for the CA polls on the part of both the government and the commission.
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