The Interim Constitution has a provision for a chief commissioner and four commissioners in the EC. But the EC currently has only two commissioners, including Gurung and another commissioner Ayodhi Prasad Yadav, both of whom will retire from their posts in mid- January.[break]
Without the appointment of the EC office bearers, there is no possibility of the election.
"We are told that the elections will take place in April-May and our term will end before that. There is no possibility of the election without the appointment of new EC office bearers," said Gurung, the newly appointed acting chief of the EC. He will head the EC until mid- January.
Mentioning the constitutional provision as well as time frame of the election, Gurung urged the government and the political parties to speed up the process to give full shape to the EC.
Gurung has been appointed as the acting chief commissioner of the EC on seniority basis.
Not just the EC, many other constitutional bodies are without heads or office bearers due to the lack of consensus among political parties.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has been functioning without its head or members for some years. Likewise, the top post at the Public Service Commission and some seats of justices in the Supreme Court have remained vacant for quite some time now.
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