Government’s preparation for local bodies’ election

Kathmandu, Jan 28: The government has started groundwork for holding the election of the local bodies for which it has prepared the draft of the amendment of Local Self-Governance Act, 2055 BS and Local Election Regulation while the Act and Regulation were under consideration of the Development Committee under the Legislature-Parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Kamal Thapa in today’s meeting of the Committee requested the parliamentarians to endorse these legal frameworks towards this end.

The election of the local bodies is due since 1997.
There are 217 municipalities and 3,157 VDCs in the country.

During the meeting, DPM Thapa shared that a consensus has been formed among the ruling parties while some rounds of talks were also conducted with the major opposition party and Madhesh-centric parties in this connection.

A commission will be formed by Mid-February for restructuring of the Local Bodies in compliance with the new constitution and further process will be forwarded as per the Commission’s recommendation, DPM Thapa said.

Thapa also touched on the topics like the managing the tuins in the countries by two years, economically enabling the newly announced municipalities.

Responding the query of the Committee’s member on the resolution of the ongoing agitation in various districts in the southern plains, he replied that the talks with the agitating Madhesh-centric parties were moving in the positive directive and solution will surface in a day or two.

The Committee members urged the government to be effortful for forging a political consensus, implementing federalism, increasing basic infrastructures as road and bridge in various places and making Building Code of Conduct practical among others.

Similarly, during the meeting Committee Chairperson Rabindra Adhikari pledged the Committee’s cooperation in removing the legal glitches and complexities concerning the local bodies’ election.

Committee members Sita Giri, Ajaya Shankar Nayak, Prem Bahadur Ale, Santa Kumar Tharu, Baijanath Chaurdhary, Janaki Saud Lal Bahadur Gurung and Mohan Baniya.

Likewise, Madhav Prasad Regmi Secretary at the Ministry of Local Development informed the Committee that as stipulated by the new constitution, seven commissions have been formed which are formulating necessary Acts and reviewing the organizational structures of the employees in the local bodies.

The Committee has instructed the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as well as the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development to weigh on whether to hold the local bodies’ elections or to gear up for the same for the implementation of the federalism.

The Committee, in addition, has also instructed the concerned authority for the earliest formation of the Local Bodies Re-Structuring Commission in a bid to hold the local bodies’ election.