Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said elections would be announced soon after forging consensus with all the parties.

“The government would announce the election date,” the PM told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport upon his arrival from a four-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

Claiming that the government would pass necessary laws on time, Dahal urged the Election Commission to begin preparations for the polls.

The PM said he had talked with Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav before leaving for the UAE. Yadav had urged the government to finalise the poll-related bills by January 23 to ensure the local elections by third week of May.

“Today the CEC gave me five more days. The government will ensure necessary laws within this time frame,” PM Dahal said. As soon as the House opens, all the election-related bills would be endorsed. The next meeting of the Legislature-Parliament has been scheduled for January 20.

Addressing an interaction organised by the Reporters’ Club on Tuesday, Yadav said the EC can hold the local level elections in the third week of May if the government provided the laws within January 28.

Emphasising the significance of his visit, Dahal said two lakh Nepalis are working in the UAE and this was the first official visit by the Nepali executive head in 40 years.

Dahal made a special request to Vice President of UAE Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to provide general amnesty for Nepali worker Amar Bahadur Bam.