Government decides to hold by-elections on December 1

Kathmandu, The government has decided to hold by-elections for local levels on December 1 (Mangsir-16). Today’s (sunday) Cabinet meeting approved the proposal put forward by the Election Commission. ‘The meeting decided to conduct the by-elections on the date proposed by the Commission,’ said Prithvi Subba Gurung, Minister for Communication and Information Technology and government spokesperson.

Earlier, high-ranking officials of the officials, including Chief Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, met with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and proposed holding the by-elections on December 1. According to Thapaliya, Prime Minister Oli expressed the government’s readiness to proceed with the elections in line with the commission’s proposal and urged officials to start preparations. ‘We have proposed holding the by-elections on December 1, and the Prime Minister has instructed us to move forward with preparations,’ he said.

Prime Minister Oli had reportedly assured that the upcoming Cabinet meeting would confirm the election date. He also called on the election authority to ensure an environment where the elections could be conducted in a cost-effective, free, fair, and peaceful manner.

According to the election authority, there are currently 41 vacant positions, including two district coordination committee chiefs, two chairs, four vice-chairs, and 10 ward chairs of rural municipalities, as well as one mayor, one deputy mayor, and 21 ward chairs of municipalities.