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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal's government announced Monday that much-delayed but crucial elections for village councils and towns will be held in May, the first such polls in two decades.
Forest Minister Shanker Bhandari said the Cabinet decided that elections for village and town posts would be held on a single day, and that the government is hopeful that people who oppose the polls will also participate.
Ethnic groups in southern Nepal have insisted that the elections should only be held after the constitution adopted in 2015 is amended, and have threatened to disrupt the voting.
The United Democratic Madhesi Front said it would protest the government decision starting tTuesday.
The last election for the local posts was held in 1997, and successive governments have been unable to hold new polls.
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