Kathmandu, Nepal, January 25, 2022: The contradictions in the constitution of Nepal and Local Level Election Act over the term of the elected representatives of the local governments has not only created confusion to fix the date for the local level elections but sparked controversies distancing relations among the political parties so as to move ahead forging consensus.
Considering to the contradictions in the law and constitution, the government has decided to amend the act in order to make it compatible with the constitution. However, the differences and division among the parties would hamper even to amend the act to hold election on time.
The debate over when to hold the local level elections emerged after CPN (Maoist Center) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal proposed federal elections in April-May by delaying local polls proposed for coming April. Dahal’s proposal made on the backing of another ruling ally CPN (United Socialist) has left government and its other allies in a state of confusion to make decision election.
The Election Commission (EC), the constitutional body responsible to hold the elections on time has already proposed that the local elections be held in April-May (April 27 if it is to be held in a single phase, and April 27 and May 5 if it is to be held in two phases. The government has to declare the election date for the local bodies within a week or two as EC requires at least 120 days to make necessary preparations for the elections.
Though the Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba is not favor of delaying local polls as demanded by the two coalition partners of the incumbent government, he is has remained in state of confusion. There is also a widespread pressure to the government to hold local level elections on time as proposed by the EC.
Not only the main opposition, CPN UML, but also the leaders of the dissident faction of the Nepali Congress has repeatedly been demanding that the local level elections should be held within coming April as proposed by the Election Commission.
Issuing a statement, the UML had stated that the local level elections must be held on stipulated time. In the statement, the UML had even threatened to protest if the government delays to hold the local level election first.
Echoing the voice of the main opposition UML and the dissident faction of the ruling head Nepali Congress, some other experts have also stated that delaying local elections in the interest of a handful of political parties will be tantamount to an assault on the rule of law.
The pressure created by the Maoist Center and the United Socialist to the Prime Minister Deuba to push back the local level election to hold the parliamentary election first keeping intact the current alliance would fragile the incumbent government even before elections. The dissident faction of the Nepali Congress has repeatedly been stating that the party should not forge electoral alliance with any parties but compete solely in the elections.
Nepal held local elections in 2017 in two phases- on May 14 and June 28 As per the Local Level Election Act, there should be new local representatives by May 20 this year as section 3 of the act states as ‘elections to the office bearers of the local bodies should be completed two month before the term and mandate of the local bodies expire’. As the election law does not envision various phases of election, election date counts from the first phase of polls, which took place on May 14, 2017.
As per Article 225 of the constitution, however, states that the term of a village assembly and municipal assembly shall be of five years from the date of election. The Article further states that another village assembly and municipal assembly shall be elected no later than six months of the expiration of such a term.
Similarly, Article 220 (6) of the constitution has made a provision that the term of office of the chief, deputy chief and member of the district coordination committee shall be five years after the date of being elected. Likewise, Article 215 (6) of the same constitution has a provision that the term of office of the chairperson, vice-chairperson, ward chairperson and member shall be five years after the date of being elected.
As Parliamentary and provincial elections were held on November 26 and December 7, 2017, there is neither legal as well as constitutional confusion nor political compulsion to hold the parliamentary election before local level elections. The Maoist Center and the United Socialist have been insisting for the parliamentary election first showing the reason of obstruction in the parliament created by the UML.
