Following an agreement among the five-party ruling coalition on Wednesday, the government has decided to hold the federal and provincial polls on November 20.

With the announcement of the polls, the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led coalition government has now turned into a caretaker one, which cannot take crucial decisions.

A meeting of the Cabinet took the decision to hold the elections on November 20 on Thursday based on the recommendation of the Election Commission.

“Today’s Cabinet has decided to hold the federal and provincial polls on November 20,” said Metmani Chaudhari, minister for urban development.

The Election Commission now has 107 days to prepare for the polls, which the chief election commissioner says is enough time for the polls body.

Earlier on July 6, the polls body had recommended the government hold the federal and provincial polls on November 18 in a single phase.

The previous federal and provincial polls were held in two phases on November 26 and December 7 in 2017.

The commission this time has proposed the government hold the polls in one go for that would be cost-effective and easier for the polls body to manage.

The Election Commission had only 95 days when the government had announced the date of local polls for May 13.

As per the Election Commission Act 2017, the government announces election dates in consultation with the Election Commission.

The election date was earlier recommended for November 18, according to officials of the polls body, assuming that the tenure of the existing House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly would end on December 8. The commission had declared the early winners of the second phase of the elections in federal and provincial elections in 2017 on December 8 under the first-past-the-post system.

Of the total 275 seats of the federal parliament, 165 are directly elected under the first-past-the-post system while the remaining 110 would be elected through the proportional representation system. Among the 550 seats of the seven provincial assemblies, 330 are directly elected and 220 are elected through the proportional representation system.