Kathmandu: Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya held discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka today on the by-election to be held for 25 various posts that have fallen vacant.
In the meeting took place at the Ministry of Defence in Singha Durbar, CEC Thapaliya and DPM Khadka discussed the recently conducted National Assembly member election and the upcoming by-election, according to the DPM’s Secretariat.
There is a constitutional provision by which the Election Commission can consult with the government regarding the election to the Member of the House of Representatives and the Province Assembly as well as the by-election to the vacant posts in the local levels.
The Commission has already suggested to the government to hold the by-election within mid-May this year. It is conducting the election to fill up these posts that have fallen vacant due to various reasons.
According to the Election Commission, the post of a Member each is vacant in the House of Representatives and the Province Assembly. By-election is being held in Ilam constituency-2 for one member of the House of Representatives and in Province Assembly constituency-1, Bajhang election constituency-1, Sudur Paschim Province. The Ilam constituency-2 seat had fallen vacant following the death on September 12, 2023 of Subas Chandra Nembang who was elected to the House of Representatives on CPN (UML) ticket from that constituency while the Bajhang provincial assembly constituency-1 had fallen vacant after the death in a road accident of Nepali Congress Province Assembly member Prithvi Bahadur Singh.
The Commission stated that currently 25 posts have fallen vacant, including one in the House of Representatives, one in the Sudur Paschim Province Assembly, two chiefs of the District Coordination Committee, one deputy-mayor of a municipality, one Chair of a rural municipality, two vice-chairs of rural municipalities and 17 ward chairs of various local levels.