Chairs of a faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Nepal on Monday asked the Election Commission to halt preparations for general elections as the case was sub judice at the Supreme Court.

After the government’s decision to hold the elections on April 30 and May 10. Election Commission has started preparations and has published a notice to update the existing voter’s list and the election centres.

“Leaders including Dahal and Nepal asked the Election Commission to halt the ongoing preparations for the elections when the Supreme Court is looking into the case of House dissolution,” said Lilamani Pokhrel, a Standing Committee member who was present at the meeting. “We have presented a written request to the Commission.”

Pokhrel said the Election Commission has tried to influence the ongoing hearing regarding the House dissolution at the Supreme Court by publishing the election programme and therefore his party leaders had reached the Commission to put pressure on them to halt the process.

Joint Secretary at the Law and Political Parties Management Division of the Election Commission Laxmi Prasad Gautam said necessary decisions will be taken on the request of the faction of the Nepal Communist Party.

Pokharel, however, said that officials told them that the Election Commission cannot halt preparations since the government has told it to make preparations.

On Sunday the secretariat meeting of the Dahal-Nepal faction had decided to put pressure on the Commission to halt the preparations saying that its activities would affect the verdict of the Supreme Court.

Gautam said that the faction also asked for copies of all documents their party has submitted to the commission since the two warring factions of Nepal Communist Party have been claiming to be the legitimate one.