Nepal's interim govt says it is preparing with 'one-pointedness' for Mar 5 general election

Kathmandu, Sep 18 (PTI) Nepal's interim government on Thursday said it is preparing with "one-pointedness" to conduct the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 5 next year and assured that the polls will be held on time.

Addressing a gathering of Election Commission officials and journalists at the commission's office here, newly-appointed Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal urged all political parties and stakeholders to gear up for the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives, noting that the members elected in the last polls were displaced following the Gen Z protests.

Nepal last held parliamentary elections in November 2022.

Conducting the Parliamentary election on March 5 next year is the main responsibility of the interim government and it is focusing on this task with "one-pointedness", Aryal said.

"The interim government will make speedy preparations for holding the election at the stipulated time, so nobody should doubt about it," he said.

"This will be a historic election following the Gen Z agitation, as an environment will be created to bring the protesters into the political mainstream," the minister said, adding that their participation would strengthen the process of nation building.

Aryal said the interim government is committed to ensuring law and order and conducting free and fair elections acceptable both to the people of Nepal and the international community.

He also said the government is considering ways to extend voting rights to Nepalis residing abroad.

Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, who was also present at the event, said the commission had started preparations soon after President Ramchandra Paudel announced March 5, 2026, as the poll date, and sought legal and technical support from the government to ensure wider participation.

"We need to formulate specific laws if we are to provide voting rights to Nepalese people living abroad," he said.

Chief Justice Sushila Karki last week became Nepal's first woman prime minister to lead an interim government, ending days of political uncertainty after the K P Sharma Oli dispensation was forced to quit following wide-spread anti-government protests against a ban on social media and alleged corruption.

More than 50 people were killed in the student-led nation-wide protests. PTI SBP SCY SCY SCY