On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sushila Karki said that the mid-term elections, slated for March 5, might take place in two phases if extreme weather continues in the mountainous districts. Karki hinted that voting in the affected districts might take place at a later date.

But on Thursday, she insisted that the country will hold the polls in a single phase.

After visiting the Janak Education Material Centre to get an update on the printing of ballot papers, Karki said that all that remains now is for the people to cast their votes.

“After seeing the ballot papers, we felt that the election had arrived,” Karki said. “People only need to stamp the ballots now.”

Karki added that the election would be held on a single day. “Please be assured, the election is coming,” she said. “The election will be held on a single day. It will not be held in two phases; it will be held all at once.”

Her statement on Tuesday about the possibility of conducting the election in two phases had raised doubts whether the election would be held in time.

Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday, Karki met with former prime minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli at Baluwatar to talk about the various aspects of the elections.

The UML, which was previously undecided whether to take part in the elections, has now concluded that the March election is inevitable, a minister said.

The UML’s only demand now is election security, the minister said.

During the discussion with Karki, Oli also raised questions about whether the election scheduled for March would be fair. Oli had pointed out that security challenges still persist in ensuring a free and fair election. Oli also told the prime minister that elections should happen in a single phase and the government should take the security guarantee, said Ram Bahadur Rawal, press adviser to the prime minister.

Likewise, Oli also drew the prime minister’s attention about booth security during the election day.

Oli also expressed concern over Prime Minister Karki’s remarks regarding the possibility of postponing the election.

Clarifying the matter, Prime Minister Karki stated that she had only said the election could be postponed if there is heavy snowfall in the mountainous districts, and that she had not said it would definitely be postponed. She also assured that no stone would be left unturned in ensuring the security of voters, candidates, and election staff.