Acting Election Chief Urges Simultaneous Local and Provincial Elections to Cut Costs

Kathmandu. The Acting Chief Election Commissioner, Ramprasad Bhandari, has stated that it is necessary to hold local level and provincial assembly elections simultaneously.

Addressing the certificate distribution program for proportional representation members of the House of Representatives on Thursday, he suggested that the local level and provincial assembly elections scheduled for 2084 BS should be conducted at the same time.

He mentioned that this would reduce election expenditure. According to Bhandari, local elections must be held within the next 13-14 months, while provincial assembly elections are due in the month of Mangsir, 2084 BS.

He stated that conducting these two elections on a single date would be economical and effective. However, he noted that the current legal structure does not allow for joint elections.

To facilitate this, he stressed the need to bring a single Election Management Act by integrating about 10 existing election-related laws. He informed that the Commission had already prepared a draft for this act and sent it to the government more than two years ago. Stating that the bill is under consideration in the Ministry of Home Affairs, he emphasized that the Parliament should discuss and pass it as soon as possible.

According to him, if laws and regulations are not finalized at least one year before the election, necessary structures like the code of conduct and directives cannot be prepared. Bhandari warned that if the Election Management Bill is not passed in the upcoming session, enabling the Commission to conduct elections impartially and effectively, the 2084 BS elections will remain confined to the current flawed process.