President Bhandari urges PM Deuba to hold local elections on time
Kathmandu- President Bidya Devi Bhandari has urged Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to hold the elections of local governments on time.
According to sources familiar with the development, President Bhandari reminded PM to hold the elections of local governments on time as per the spirit of the constitution. In response, PM Deuba informed that consultations are underway to hold the elections on time. PM Deuba called on President Bhandari on January 27.
US Orders Departure of Family Members of Ukraine Embassy Staff
Kathmandu- United States has ordered the departure of eligible family members from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. direct-hire employees due to the continued threat of Russian military action against Ukraine, Voice of America reports.
The State Department also is asking U.S. citizens in Ukraine to consider departing the country now using commercial or other privately available transportation options.
The State Department reissued its Level 4 Travel Warning for Ukraine, saying “Do not travel to Ukraine due to the increased threats of Russian military action and COVID-19.” Previously, the travel warning had also been at Level 4, due to COVID-19.
Special representative of IFRC Secretary-General calls on Minister Khadka
Kathmandu-- Special Representative of International Federation of Red Cross(IFRC) Secretary-General Walter Cottee W paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka on January 23. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they discussed humanitarian activities of IFRC in Nepal and other issues.
Ruling parties seek ways to defer local level elections
Kathmandu- It is an open secret that some members of the ruling coalition want to delay the local-level elections. The Election Commission (EC), a constitutional body mandated for holding the elections, has already proposed April 27 for holding the local level polls. But political parties are neglecting the EC proposals.
The coalition ruling is seeking ways to postpone the election. That is why they are talking about the contradictory provisions in the constitution and electoral laws. On January 23, the ruling coalition held consultations with some legal eagles who are divided on when the elections should take place.
Some parties want to delay the elections but are not ready to take the blame, which is why they are looking for some ambiguous provisions in the constitution. If the parties are honest, there won’t be any problems to hold elections on the EC-proposed date, said a ruling party leader, adding, it is a tactic to buy time and postpone the elections.
On January 23, the ruling collation held consultations with constitutional exports to solicit their views on contradictory provisions in the constitution and Local Election Act 2017. “Constitutional lawyers have advised the government to amend the law to make it compatible with constitutional provisions,” said Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, who is also the government spokesperson. He also said that government would move ahead as per the constitutional provisions.
However, the environment is not conducive for amending the law as the main opposition CPN-UML has been obstructing the Parliament. The UML has already made it clear that it would not accept any move that would defer the local elections.
That is why chances of the local elections happening in April\May are slim. The next window for holding an election in November this year. The ruling coalition is also proposing to hold all three-tier elections at a go. However, EC has said that it is not possible to hold all three-level elections at once due to logistical issues.
