Kathmandu: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all the concerned bodies to prepare for elections as three-tier elections should be held within a year. The address by the Prime Minister focused on the Covid-19 surge and efforts by the government to contain the pandemic and achievements made by the government since his six months in office.
Addressing the nation on Friday afternoon, the Prime Minister said that the government has been mandated to hold timely polls.
“It’s the responsibility of the government to hold all three-tier elections. I request all the agencies to prepare for the polls,” he said.
As per the constitutional mandate, local-level polls should be held in April. But, the parties in the ruling coalition are divided on whether to hold local polls or parliamentary elections first. The CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) have been pitching for holding parliamentary elections in April while other parties are for holding local polls at first
The term of locally-elected representatives is ending on May 20. Earlier, the Election Commission had proposed elections be held on April 27 if held in a single phase, and on April 27 and May 5 if held in two phases.
The government has not been able to decide on polls due to the dispute in the ruling alliance.
On a separate note, the Prime Minister has claimed that the government is working effectively for Covid-19 control. Deuba claimed that adequate oxygen and beds are available in government hospitals. He added that the government has enough vaccines.
Prime Minister Deuba has said that the economy will be taken into consideration while enforcing restrictions to prevent and control the pandemic. Expressing his commitment to ensuring that Covid-19 patients will get effective treatment, the Prime Minister said that the vaccination campaign will be continued by adopting safety measures.
The Prime Minister claimed the government is heading on a right track.
“It is clear that the government is moving in the right direction. The works done and the achievements made in a short period have laid a strong foundation for achieving development, stability, and prosperity in the country,” Deuba said.
Prime Minister Deuba further shared that his government has laid emphasis on enhancing judicious economic development to prepare the foundation for socio-economic transformation, promoting a production-oriented economy, boosting up the export of goods by utilizing domestic raw materials and labor, improving supply management, controlling inflation and carrying out probe, investigation and follow-up of corruption cases.
Noting that Nepal is advancing to a process to graduate to a developing nation from the status of Least Development Country through first-generation economic and administrative reform that was initiated with economic liberalization and privatization, he said, “Our goal is to reach to the level of a developed country by attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a short span of time. In reaching to the elevated level, the government would address the challenges and bottlenecks surfaced in the shared journey and carry out the second generation of economic and governance reform by utilizing the opportunities received”.
The head of the government went on to say that the implementation of the constitution, economic prosperity, development and good governance would be put in the centre while framing plans for reform.
Prime Minister Deuba noted that a pressing time has come in to continue economic and social activities in collaboration among different actors and sectors by stemming recurring risks of the third wave of the coronavirus on the lives of the citizens
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