Govt will fix local poll date soon: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced that the government would fix the date for local-level elections soon. He said holding local elections had become urgent and that the government would concentrate all its efforts on realizing this agenda without any further delay. “The government in consultation with the Election Commission will soon announce the date for local elections,” the prime minister said while addressing a special function organized to mark the first anniversary of the promulgation of the constitution at the Nepal Army Pavilion in Kathmandu on Monday. Dahal said the government has been putting all efforts to create a political environment conducive for holding local elections. He said that the government has been working in coordination with the commission formed to fix the number of boundaries of local units in federal structure and that the commission has been asked to complete its task and submit the report to the government at the earliest. “The constitution has assigned a very important and mandatory task to us, which is to hold local, provincial and federal elections by January 21, 2018,” said Dahal. “These three elections will prove to be milestone in implementing the constitution and institutionalizing and strengthening federalism.” He urged all the political parties to rise above partisan interests when it comes to working on a sensitive issue like elections. He claimed that the government has put all efforts for formulating necessary laws and establish institutional structures needed to hold elections.