EC to warn leaders over CA timetable

As the deadline of mid-June approaches, the Election Commission (EC) is getting increasingly anxious over the lack of political, legal and security atmosphere to conduct the elections of Constituent Assembly (CA).

The EC is planning to hold crucial meeting with top leaders of eight parties including the Prime Minister on Monday to discuss about the timetable of the CA. At the meeting, the EC is expected to warn the leaders that it will not be able to hold the polls on time.

Time and again, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr. Bhoj Raj Pokharel has been urging the political leaders to expedite the formulation of necessary electoral legislations and create conducive environment for the polls. At present, four electoral legislations are under discussion at the parliament while the fifth one has just been tabled. Moreover, the issues of recruiting necessary manpower and security personnel for the purpose of holding free and fair polls have also not been resolved yet.

Last week, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had publicly said that the current situation was abnormal. He even expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of law and order.

Senior Congress leaders like Ram Chandra Poudel and Laxman Ghimire have also publicly doubted that the CA polls could be held on stipulated time.

Talking to Nepal FM on Monday morning, UML senior leader Pradeep Nepal also stated that it was impossible to hold the CA polls on time. "Only two and a half months remain and the EC is yet to complete voters' rolls and everybody knows the situation of law and order. Besides, the Maoists still behave as if they are above law," he said.

Nepal even urged the political leadership to tell the 'truth' to the people and announce postponement of elections.