Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal cannot be held on November 22, the Election Commission said on Monday citing legal and constitutional ambiguities as well as lack of political consensus among parties.
Acting chief commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety and spokesperson Sharada Prasad Trital expressed inability to hold the polls on the date announced by the Maoist government.
The existing rules and regulations were not amended to start the process, they told reporters at the Election Commission office.
“In a situation of constitutional and legal ambiguity, it will be difficult for us to proceed,” Trital said in a statement.
“Therefore, we have decided to inform the government that it is not possible to hold elections... on November 22,” Trital said.
They further pointed out the need for political consensus to hold the fresh elections.
“The basis of democratic system is election,” Uprety said.
“It is not a matter of delight that the second historical election has to be deferred,” he added.
Uprety said that the timely unavailability of electoral laws had prevented the holding of the election despite the preparedness and capacity on the Election Commission’s part.
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had dissolved the 601-member Constituent Assembly and announced fresh elections to it on November 22.
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