KATHMANDU, Feb 17: Senior election officials on Thursday said that preparations are underway to announce a poll date on Saturday. May 15 is said to be the date that will be announced for the first phase local election.
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leaders of major political parties have been invited to the election body to mark Election Day and preparations are being made to announce the poll date at the same function. Nepal marks Election Day on Saturday, which is also Democracy Day.
Lawmakers urge for announcing date for local poll
An informal agreement on the poll date was reached at a meeting held between PM Dahal and Chief Commissioner Yadav on Wednesday. “The poll date is likely to be announced on the occasion of Election Day,” said Election Commissioner Ila Sharma.
Earlier, the EC, which plans to conduct the election in two phases, had sought at least 15 days to prepare for the next-phase poll. Calculating the number of days required for poll preparations, the EC had proposed May 15 as the date for the first-phase local election and June 3 for the second phase. According to Sharma, the government is preparing to endorse the proposed election date.
