Kathmandu, October 25
In a move that could jeopardise the Election Commission’s plans to conduct the first round of federal and provincial elections on November 26, the Supreme Court has ordered the poll body to prepare separate ballot papers for the two elections which are to be held simultaneously.
The order comes just a few hours after the commission decided to print two ballot papers (one for FPTP seats of both Parliament and provincial assemblies, and another for PR seats of the federal House and the state legislatures) for the upcoming elections.
The Supreme Court recently, responding to a petition filed by RJP leader Sarbendra Nath Shukla, had said that it would not interfere in the printing process as ballot papers for the PR seats had already been printed. However, it had said it would like to see separate ballot papers for the FPTP seats. The commission had interpreted this order as ‘non-binding’ and gone ahead with its original plan.
But Shukla moved court again claiming that the commission committed contempt to court by not following orders.
Following the court order, the commission has said it would be difficult to adhere to the court order and hold elections on time. This means that the first round of elections is likely to be postponed.
