KATHMANDU: Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki has intensified dialogue with major political parties in a bid to ensure that the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5, 2026, takes place as planned.
As part of this effort, Prime Minister Karki dispatched Minister for Communication and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel on Friday to hold consultations with leaders of the three major political parties. Following those meetings, she has invited the same leaders to Baluwatar on Saturday for further talks.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, leaders from the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Nepal Communist Party have been invited to build trust and accelerate preparations for the upcoming election.
The government’s renewed push comes at a time when major political parties are pressing for the restoration of the House of Representatives dissolved on September 12, instead of moving directly toward elections. Against this backdrop, the interim government has prioritised confidence-building measures through sustained political dialogue.
To facilitate talks with political parties, the interim government has formed a high-level Political Dialogue Committee under the coordination of Law Minister Anil Kumar Sinha. As a member of the committee, Minister Kharel has already visited party offices and held meetings with senior leaders.
On Friday, Kharel met Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli, and Nepal Communist Party Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ at their respective residences. Following those meetings, Kharel said the government was confident that the March 5 election would take place.
After the consultations, the government formally invited the three leaders to the Prime Minister’s residence for further discussion. The Prime Minister’s Secretariat confirmed that invitations have already been sent.
Earlier, Prime Minister Karki had also held talks with the same leaders at Shital Niwas at the initiative of President Ramchandra Paudel. During that meeting, Deuba and Oli had stated that holding elections on March 5 would not be possible due to the lack of a conducive political and security environment.
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