Kathmandu, January 27
Nepal’s Parliamentt is likely to miss an Election Commission deadline to get voting-related laws ready as lawmakers continue to bicker on provisions of the new Act.
The commission had said that for it to conduct elections in May, Parliament would have to pass all poll-related laws by January 28 (Saturday).
Of the five Acts needed to conduct local election, only two have been passed by Parliament. The third of the Acts is to be tabled in Parliament later today. However, the fourth and the fifth pieces of legislation, which deal with the controversial issue of ‘threshold’, is still being debated in Parliament’s Public Affairs Committee.
Committee’s vice chair Iswari Neupane says lawmakers have sought two more days to deliberate on the bills. As tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday is also a public holiday, the committee members have time until Tuesday. Analysts believe that the commission could accept the legislation till then, and allow the government to announce elections.
