The Supreme Court has quashed the people’s representatives’ appeal to participate as a candidate in the upcoming local level election without resigning from their existing positions. The local level election will be held on May 13, 2022.
The joint bench of the Justice Tej Bahadur KC and Til Prasad Shrestha gave the verdict on the writ petition filed by Nima Galgen Sherpa, chairperson of Helambu rural municipality of Sindhupalchowk, the writ petition was scrapped along with the previous short-term interim order on April 19, 2022.
Earlier, the Election Commission had specified in its code of conduct that the existing people’s representative should resign if he/she wants to participate in the upcoming local level election.
The commission had stated that the provision was included in the code of conduct as there is a provision in Article 13 (d) of the Local Level Election Act that a person receiving a salary from the local level cannot be a candidate.
However, Nima Galgen Sherpa, Chairperson of Helambu Rural Municipality, had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court appealing to allow the people’s representatives to stay in their position until the election is over since due to the provision, the position of the people’s representatives will be vacant from the time of candidature until the election of a new people’s representative.