Local elections: just a memory

Local elections in May? An optimistic update

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It’s hard to believe but if PM Dahal’s promises and recent actions are anything to go by, local elections might happen as early as in May – 20 years after the last local election was held in Nepal. Dahal just informed Chief Election Commissioner, Yadav, that he plans to announce the election date “in a few days”, and meanwhile the parliamentary State Affairs Committee just passed two election-related bills critical to going ahead with fresh local elections…

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Commission on local bodies gives up on deadlines

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Still waiting for the LBRC and the first local election since 1997: local politicians, here in Chitwan.

Ever tried to contact a ministry by email and never get a reply? Well, many have, and now the chairman of the Local Bodies Restructuring Commission (LBRC) has too. Trying for a second time to write the Ministry of Local Development and Federal Affairs to get data on Ilakas – the areas supposed to form the territorial basis of Nepal’s future local bodies – without getting a reply, the LBRC is about to give up on time frames and deadlines. We can’t set a deadline with such lack of cooperation from the government, says an LBRC…

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Local bodies restructuring: hit by major delay

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Balananda Poudel, chief of the Local Bodies Restructuring Commission, was just about to release the commission

It’s decided with the new constitution that the VDCs – the local bodies at village level – have to be replaced. But exactly when and how is still unknown. The only certain thing is that there “will be a delay”, says Balananda Poudel, chief of the Local Bodies Restructuring Commission. The new constitution provides for…

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Promising a local election: Thapa does it again

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Deputy Prime Minister, Kamal Thapa, gets to promise local elections twice in two months (in February, then April)

It is business as usual but stunning as always. Once again, a government leader has pledged to hold local elections “soon”. This time, it’s Deputy Prime Minister, Kamal Thapa, who just yesterday promised to hold local elections in November – and that promise can sound hollow considering that two months ago the same Thapa pledged to hold local elections in April! Indeed, since 2002 shifting governments have made the same type of promises at least once a year, only to postpone again and again. Will the government hold local elections…

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We need local elections to rebuild: NRA chief

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Without the cooperation of strong local leaders, getting things done at local kevel often becomes very difficult: village politician

It’s an experience as old as Nepali government, dating back to the Rana regime and the royal rulers before them who often had to struggle to establish a reliable and continuous tax collection system at local level. Without the cooperation of strong local leaders who enjoy a good deal of control with the local people, […]

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New constitution? Yes! Local election? Maybe…

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Major laws have to be passed before local elections can happen - and major laws can take time.

The constitution was promulgated on September 20th – and the main reason for postponing local elections in Nepal seems to have vanished! Or has it? Well, if the legislation needed in order to implement the constitution runs smoothly, perhaps local elections – the first since 1997 – will happen within a year. However, it’s major […]

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