Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reiterated that the parties would reach an agreement soon on amending the constitution and holding the elections.

At the inaugural session of the first conference of the Government Lawyers of Nepal, PM Dahal said the dispute would not last “too long”. He pledged to create an environment conducive to consensus on the issues of constitution amendment and the local level elections.

According to the constitution, the three tiers of elections have to be held within 13 months. He said the local polls must take place by April, while provincial and central elections should be over by November next year.

PM Dahal also urged the lawyers to help end impunity, uphold the independence of judiciary and consolidate the rule of law.

Chief Justice Sushila Karki said the Supreme Court has launched a campaign to provide the poor, backward and deprived communities with access to justice, hailing the role of government lawyers crucial in this drive.

She also stressed the need for increasing the number of successful court cases handled by government lawyers, expressing her concern that many cases pleaded by them faced defeat for the lack of substantial evidence.

Speaker Onasari Gharti said there was no alternative for the political parties to allowing the obstructed parliamentary business to resume while expressing hope that the impasse would end soon.

Attorney General Raman Kumar Shrestha said proportional representation should be taken into account while appointing judges so that the government lawyers do not feel excluded from the process.

On the occasion, President Bidya Devi Bhandari honoured a dozen former attorney generals including Sarbagya Ratna Tuladhar, Badri Bahadur Karki, Sushil Kumar Panta, Mahadev Prasad Yadav, Yubaraj Sangraula, Hari Krishna Karki, Hari Phuyal and Mukti Narayan Pradhan.

More than 35o representatives from across the country are participating in the three-day conference.