Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said election dates will be announced after reaching an agreement with the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM). 

 Taking to media persons at Bharatpur Airport on Wednesday, PM Dahal said that the Morcha and other agitating political parties should be brought on board for the polls. 

The government has been holding talks with the Morcha to forge consensus on elections, he added. 

 “There is no need to cast doubt on government plan to hold elections. They will be held by mid-June at any cost,” said Dahal, adding that the government has already asked the Election Commission to start preparing for polls. 

The Morcha, an alliance of seven Madhes-based parties, has said that it won’t participate in the elections until the government revises the constitution amendment bill and gets it endorsed in Parliament. On the other hand, the main opposition CPN-UML is pressing the government to  withdraw the constitution amendment bill and announce dates for elections at the earliest.

Amend statute first: Bhattarai

HETAUDA: Naya Shakti Nepal Coordinator Baburam Bhattarai said on Wednesday that elections cannot be held without amending the constitution. “A mistake was committed during the constitution promulgation. That mistake must be corrected by amending the constitution,” said the former prime minister at a press meet in Hetauda on Wednesday. Conducting elections without amending the statute would invite confrontation, he claimed. (PR)