The government is set to write to the Election Commission, asking it to gear up for local elections by mid-May. 

A Cabinet meeting on Thursday will take a decision about writing to the EC asking it to start preparations, according to Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport. “We have the legal framework for the polls almost in place. So the government has decided to send an official letter to the EC to start preparations aiming local polls by mid-May,” Lekhak told the Post. 

Three of the five poll-related bills have already been endorsed by the House. “The most important thing is creating a political environment for elections, which the government will do in consultation with various political parties, including the disgruntled forces,” he added. 

If the government dispatches the letter to the EC on Thursday asking it to prepare for polls by mid-May, the election body will have 105 days. A letter to the EC, the governing parties believe, would help build pressure on the main opposition CPN-UML, which has been pressing the government to withdraw the constitution amendment bill and declare dates for local elections.