Nepal to hold local elections in January

Kathmandu: Nepal will hold local elections in January 2015 after a gap of 16 years, Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev Gautam said on Tuesday.

The elections for the leadership of local bodies -- village development committees and municipalities -- should have been held every five years. But due to political instability, there has not been any such election since 1998.

The country's political parties, in their respective manifestoes for the Constituent Assembly elections held last November, promised to hold local elections within six months after the formation of the new government.

"The local election will be held before the introduction of the constitution January 22, 2015," Xinhua quoted Gautam as saying.

He asked the security institutions concerned to focus on a poll-oriented security plan so as to make the elections peaceful, unbiased and organised.