The Dahal-Nepal faction of Nepal’s split ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) asked the country’s Election Commission to halt preparations for the general elections scheduled for April 30 and May 10, citing the pending cases against the house dissolution in the apex court.

“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,” Lilamani Pokhrel, a standing committee member of Dahal-Nepal NCP faction, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

The Election Commission has started work on updating the voter lists and selecting polling centres as the Oli led government announced the election dates in April and May this year. The NCP faction also submitted a written request in this regard.

Laxmi Prasad Gautam, a secretary of the Election Commission, said on Monday that the commission will take the necessary decision on the request.

The Dahal-Nepal faction argued that the commission’s ongoing activities could influence the apex court hearing hence they should stop preparation for now. Pokhrel, however, said the commission told them that they could not stop preparation as they had received the order from the government to make arrangements for elections.