Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari has clarified that although there has been discussion in recent days about whether the election will be held in one phase or two phases, the commission has never accepted this.

“The Election Commission has not believed in the concept of phases from the beginning,” he said in an interview with the Kathmandu Post. “The Commission has never uttered the words ‘one phase’, ‘two phases’ or ‘three phases.’”  Bhandari reiterated that the elections would be held on the same date and time as scheduled on March 21, from 7 am to 5 pm. This time, although there were many expectations that voting would take place from outside the constituency, he said that this was not possible, citing legal and constitutional limitations as the main reason.  “Once the election date is announced, there cannot be any changes in the election-related laws or technology,” Bhandari said. “We have to hold elections within the limits of this constitution. Therefore, once the election date is announced, the election-related laws, rules and laws cannot be amended. Without such amendments, the current law cannot accommodate voters living abroad or voting from outside the constituency.”