Nepal's National Assembly election likely on February 8

Election for Nepal's National Assembly, also known as upper house of Federal Parliament, is expected to be held on February 8.

The Nepal government will announce the date of the elections after holding the cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Nepal's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ayodhee Prasad Yadav held a meeting with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday and suggested him to hold the much awaited election on February 8.

"In a meeting between the Prime Minister Deuba and Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Yadav, the CEC suggested to hold the election on 8th of February. Responding to the suggestion, Prime Minister Deuba said an announcement would be made after the cabinet meeting on Thursday," said Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, joint secretary as well as spokesperson of Nepal's Election Commission.

Last week, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari also signed the National Assembly Act to open the way for holding the elections for the upper house.

The National Assembly will have 56 elected and three appointed members. Each of the seven state councils will send eight members to the assembly and the other three will be appointed by the president on the government's recommendation.

Although the elections to the House of Representatives, the lower house, and Provincial Assembly were conducted successfully, the fate of a new government was in oblivion due to cross-party differences over the National Assembly election.