The House of Representatives elections are just four months away. The government and the Election Commission are already busy preparing for the elections. Although the main political parties have been focused on the party convention and the unification process for some time, they are internally turning towards the elections.

After the Gen-G movement, the civilian government formed under the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki has been given the main 'mandate' to hold elections to the House of Representatives. The election has been announced on the recommendation of the government on 21 Falgun.

Although political parties are expressing doubts about the election environment, the government has urged people not to be suspicious as the main 'mandate' is to hold elections. The Election Commission has also stated that preparations are being made to hold elections on 21 Falgun. 

Some are concerned about security as around 500 weapons looted during the 24 Bhadra protests are still outside and around 5,000 prisoners and detainees who escaped just then are still at large. There is also a fear that various anarchic groups will disrupt the election environment in the name of the movement. Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, however, claims that there is no need to panic as a security strategy has been formulated and a campaign has been launched to search for weapons and arrest absconding prisoners. 'The government is confident that the absconding prisoners will not be involved in activities that disrupt the election,' he says.

The government had given the responsibility of preparing an integrated security plan for the election to the Nepal Army. A task force has also been formed under the leadership of the Nepal Army's Assistant Lieutenant General, including representatives from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and the National Investigation Department. The task force has been given a mandate to prepare a draft of an integrated security action plan related to the election. After finalizing the draft, the government is preparing to mobilize human resources for election security.

The government itself has assessed that royalist and various opportunist groups will influence the upcoming elections. Civil society and political parties have also been demanding that the government stop such groups in time. Durga Prasai's group has also announced to protest on 7th Mangsir. Prasai, who is currently in India, is also making statements inciting the protest. The government, however, claims that Prasai will participate in the election and will not join the protest. 

The government is preparing to hold talks with Prasai through a formal mechanism in a few days and request him to contest the elections as a party or independently. The government has informally warned the Prasain that if the government's request is accepted, its activities will be left open, or else it will be monitored and criminal action will be taken. The government has stated that it is also preparing to identify and keep such other groups under surveillance.

Home Minister Aryal and Law Minister Anil Kumar Sinha argue that if political parties and the government focus on the elections, no other force or group will be able to disrupt the election atmosphere even if they want to. The government also claims that a separate strategy has been formulated to monitor groups including Prasain.

Among the major political parties, UML is putting forward the demand for the restoration of the House of Representatives. UML is also gearing up for the party general convention to be held in the last week of Mangsir. However, UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel has indicated that it will not back down if the election is held. He says that the Supreme Court's decision on the writ petition seeking the restoration of the House of Representatives will determine the future path. Political parties other than the UML are in favor of the elections. They say that only the House of Representatives elections will bring the political system back on track. 

Law Minister Sinha says that although some political parties do not seem to be focused on the elections, they are slowly preparing internally. ‘Elections are for the parties themselves. This is the party system. We have only come as a civilian government with the mandate to hold elections,’ he says, ‘Now, except for UML, all parties are openly in favor of the elections. We understand that the parties that have not made a decision have also made internal preparations. The government believes that all parties will come to the elections.’

The government estimates that UML will openly participate in the elections after parties including the Congress started election-focused activities. A minister said that UML’s second-tier leaders have been taking the side of the elections during informal talks. "But since this dispute has reached the court and the responsibility for the incident of 23 Bhadra has to be taken, it seems that the UML has not decided on the election now," the minister said. "But when the election is held, the UML cannot stay out."

Some parties also estimate that the Gen-G, who are forming different groups and putting forward their own demands/agendas, will create chaos and take the law into their own hands. On 24 Bhadra, protesters set fire to and vandalized the offices of political parties and the houses of leaders. The parties are seeking assurances that such activities will not be repeated.

Those parties are also concerned that the election campaign will not be able to be carried out without hindrance due to the statements of some leaders of the Gen-G group. Some are also suspecting that the Gen-G will reject the election of the House of Representatives since the Gen-G is demanding a direct executive.

Home Minister Aryal, on the other hand, claims that this will not happen as the Gen-Gs are also moving towards creating an environment for the election by forming their own parties. He also informed that he is talking to various Gen-G groups. Home Minister Aryal says that the Gen-G Front has been formed under the leadership of Raksha Bam, Sudhan Gurung himself is active in forming a party, Miraj Dhungana announced the formation of a party some time ago, and other groups are also participating in talks and discussions.

The Gen-G group has also claimed that it will not disrupt the election or prohibit others. ‘Rather than prohibiting or opposing anyone, we believe in holding our own opinions and moving forward legally,’ said Bam, the coordinator of the Gen-G Front, ‘We have not made any decision on whether to contest the election or not. We will create pressure to fulfill the demands we have raised.’ She claimed that the election should be held on the scheduled date and that they will support it.

Gen-G leader Miraj Dhungana said that they will oppose the election even though their demand for a direct executive remains. ‘We have not thought about or decided to contest the election ourselves,’ he said, ‘We will clarify that in a few days.’ Sudhan Gurung, however, did not want to be contacted.

Sixteen writ petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against the appointment of former Chief Justice Karki as Prime Minister and the dissolution of the House of Representatives on Karki's recommendation. The hearing has been moved forward by placing them in the constitutional bench. In this case, the Supreme Court had ordered to submit a written response within seven days and to submit it for hearing after the written responses of all parties have been submitted.

If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the restoration of the House of Representatives, there will be no election. However, while issuing an interim order on the writ petition filed against the withdrawal of the ambassador, the Supreme Court has stated that the Karki government was formed for election purposes. This is why the government does not seem to have taken the writ petitions filed against the dissolution of the House of Representatives as a challenge.

The Chief Commissioner and one commissioner are vacant in the Election Commission. Some are also suspecting that the Commission will not be able to hold elections in such a situation. Acting Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission, Ram Prasad Bhandari, claims that the election will not be affected as there are two vacancies in the Commission. "The Commission has already published the work schedule and started work. Even three people can hold elections," he says.

Former Chief Election Commissioner Neelkanth Upreti also says that the election will not be held because of the commission. ‘Voters should be ready to vote. The commission is updating the voter list of those within the country. It seems that the commission is working because it is capable,’ he said, ‘We must create an environment where all voters can vote. Currently, there are 3 office bearers in the commission. It may be a burden to hold the election, but it is sufficient.’

The commission has started its homework, from setting up the election office to appointing the Chief Election Officer and Election Officer, to selecting employees to be deployed at polling stations. Since judges of all 77 district courts will be given responsibility for the election, the Judicial Council will have to recommend names. The commission is holding discussions with the government for that. The government will also have to decide on deploying employees for the election. The offices of the Chief Election Officer and Election Officer are operationalized in all districts a month before the election.

Home Minister Aryal says that there is no need to doubt whether the election will be held or not. ‘Some laws necessary for the elections have been made and more are being made,’ he says, ‘The security plan has been implemented. More security plans are being implemented. Work such as managing human resources and raising financial resources is also being done.’

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Law Minister Sinha also claims that the government is working with an election focus. He says that everything from coordinating with parties to providing necessary support to the Election Commission is for the elections. ‘The government issued an ordinance for the elections. If other laws are needed, the government is always ready to bring them through the ordinance. The Ministry of Finance is discussing the expenses required by the Election Commission,' he says, 'Prime Minister Karki himself is engaged in formal and informal dialogue with the parties to create an environment for the election.'

The government has also started seeking support from the international community through various diplomatic channels and ambassadors for the election. Law Minister Sinha said that various countries and international bodies, including friendly countries, have promised to support the election. 'The government would have sought such support in previous elections as well. There has been a promise of support this time too,' he said.

It seems that holding elections in the Himalayan region in Falgun will be challenging. Many villagers in high altitudes have gone elsewhere to escape the cold. If it continues to snow, they will not be able to return to their villages. It may be difficult to operate polling stations and transport ballot boxes in the Himalayan region.