Kathmandu: A writ petition has been presented before the Supreme Court (SC) against the government’s decision to hold local polls on May 14.
Mayor Sanjiv Kumar Sah of Bhangaha Municipality of Mahottari has moved the apex court with the writ petition. Sah was elected from the then Rastriya Janata Party Nepal in the earlier local polls held in 2017.
He, in the writ petition, has argued that the elections will be unconstitutional as his term as a local-level representative will be shortened by six months if local polls are held in May. Sah has demanded the court issues an interim order to halt the polls.
[Related: What if the local elections are not held on time?]
However, the writ is yet to be registered. Hearing on the writ will be swift if the court sends the writ to a regular bench after registering it. The final verdict could be delayed by months if the writ is forwarded to the Constitutional Bench. Sah has demanded his writ be sent to the regular bench.
The government has decided to hold local-level elections in a single phase on May 13. A meeting of Council of Minister held on Monday had announced the date.
The local polls held in 2017 were held in three phases and the representatives elected in the second and third phases of the local-level polls will not be able to serve for full five years if the polls are held in May. The first phase of the local elections was held on March 13, 2017, in 34 districts of provinces 3, 4 and 6. The second phase took place on June 28 and the third phase on September 18.
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