National
Law Ministry says vacancies at local levels could be filled through by-elections
The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has said that there is no legal vacuum for holding by-elections to fill the vacant posts of ward chairperson, deputy chief and member of District Coordination Committee.Prithvi Man Shrestha
The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has said that there is no legal vacuum for holding by-elections to fill the vacant posts of ward chairperson, deputy chief and member of District Coordination Committee.
These posts could be filled through by-elections as provisioned in the Local Level Operation Act-2017.
As the constitution and Local Level Election Act has not made any provision of holding by-elections for the aforementioned posts, the Election Commission (EC) has sent a proposal to amend the Local Level Election Act proposal through Nepal Act Amendment Procedure.
However, the EC is of the view that holding elections under the law other than Local Level Election Act is going against the principle of elections.
“Holding by-elections as per the Local Level Operation Act will just be an ad-hoc measure,” said Ghanashyam Ojha, deputy attorney general at the EC.
According to EC, as many as 30 posts at the local levels that were vacated owing to death, resignation, imprisonment and appointment could be filled through by-elections.
Clause 107 of the Local Level Operation Act has the provision of holding by-elections to fill the vacant post of ward chairperson.
As per the clause, the post can be filled through by-election for the reaming period if the job tenure has more than one year to expire.
Likewise, clause 108 of the Act has the provision of holding by-elections to fill vacant posts of chief, deputy chief and members of District Coordination Committee.
“If by-elections for these posts cannot be held under Local Level Election Act, they can be done through the provision of another law,” said Ramesh Dhakal, spokesperson at the Law Ministry.
The Local Level Operation Act, however, does not have the provision on filling the vacancies of ward members.
“As the absence of ward member does not stop the work of the ward office, by-elections for these posts may not be needed from a practical point of view,” said Dhakal.
On Wednesday, Election Commissioners had urged the lawmakers at the Parliamentary State Affairs and Good Governance to give the commission the law to hold by-elections for the vacant posts.
The EC had recently proposed holding by-elections of ward chairperson, ward member, Dalit women ward member and the executive member of municipality or rural municipality.
Questions have also been raised on whether the law should be formulated on holding by-elections for the posts on which the constitution has no say.
Officials at the Law Ministry and the EC say that law could be formulated without going against the constitution.
“Nowhere in the world has the constitution incorporated everything and laws can be formed without going against the constitution,” said Ojha.