KATHMANDU, July 1:Coordinator of the newly-formed party Naya Shakti Nepal, Baburam Bhattarai, has said that the local elections should be held only after restructuring the local bodies as stated in the new constitution.

Former Prime Minister Bhattarai said that though the elections for the local bodies should be held at the earliest, it wouldn't be proper to conduct polls based on the existing structure.

His statement has come at a time when major political forces have been divided over the timing of holding elections for local bodies that were last held 19 years ago.

“Once the restructuring task is done, the elections for all three levels -- local, provincial and federal -- can be held simultaneously,” said Bhattarai at an interaction with a group of journalists in Kathmandu on Thursday.

He said that his party was ready to participate in all three elections and that they have formed a parliamentary department in the party mainly for the same purpose.

“Though we are for making some changes in the new constitution and the current political system, we believe that progress is possible under this constitution and system itself,” he said. “So, we are for participating in the elections and strictly not for waging any kind of armed insurgency for political change.”

Bhattarai also informed that his will be "socialism-oriented leftist-democratic political party."

 
• naya shakti
 
• baburam bhattarai
 
• elections of local bodies