Nepal's Prime Minister Sushila Karki meets major parties to discuss upcoming elections

Kathmandu, October 21 (IANS). Nepal’s interim prime minister, Sushila Karki, held her first meeting with leaders of major political parties on Tuesday. Prime Minister Karki has invited party leaders for talks amid complaints from major political parties that the government is not starting talks despite announcing fresh elections for the House of Representatives on March 5 next year. 76 people died in various incidents during the deadly tribal protests in Nepal on September 8 and 9, after which then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned from his post. Following this, the way was cleared for Karki to form a new government on 12 September. In accordance with the demands of tribal leaders, he recommended the dissolution of the House of Representatives to President Ram Chandra Paudel, who subsequently dissolved the lower house and scheduled new elections. Although Prime Minister Karki has stressed that the main responsibility of his government is to hold elections within six months, political parties have raised questions about not holding talks with him in this regard. Earlier on October 10, he attended a meeting organized by President Paudel with senior leaders of political parties, in which the President urged them not to hold back from participating in the elections. According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat on Tuesday, Prime Minister Karki explained the reasons for the delay in talks with political parties. He said talks with political parties took time as the government was busy resolving the grievances of Genji protesters, treating those injured during the protests, cremating the bodies of martyrs and rehabilitating their families. Ajay Bhadra Khanal, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister, said the talks mainly focused on the law and order situation. During the meeting, party leaders expressed particular concern over the maintenance of law and order to ensure a favorable election environment. Responding to this, Prime Minister Karki said that the government is committed to holding elections in a free, fair and fearless environment. –IANS MS/VC Share this story Tags