EARKY ELECTION ASSURED BY ELECTION CHIEF Kathmandu, 24 March: Newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Upreti has pledged to leave no stone unturned to make necessary preparations for the new election as quickly as possible, RSS reports. Assuming his office following the swearing- in ceremony Sunday afternoon, Chief Election Commissioner Upreti vowed to go for a process of fixing the date of new election and give suggestions to the government to that end at the earliest. The Election Commission (EC) was committed to conducting fair, free and all-accepted second CA election with necessary management of different aspects as technical and legal provisions, he said. "We know our destination and are aware of a path for this as well, but still there are many challenges to reach to the destination and we will move ahead facing such challenges and managing them. The Commission will be able to complete the second CA election on time", the new Chief Election Commissioner said. He said he wanted to hold the election within mid-June instead of mid-July. The new leadership at the EC has a long experience in the respective field and are professional too, he claimed, adding that the EC would take all elaborate measures to conduct the election on time with the support from all the political parties, constitutional bodies, the President, government, civil society, voters and bureaucracy. Mr Upreti said the EC would announce election date based on the evaluation of the preparations made so far and in consultation with government. According to him, in order hold the election, arrangements need to be made in the legal, technical, political and other fronts. Voter registration was another important task for the election. However, it is the government to fix the election date, he added. "EC would make utmost efforts to hold election soon once it got cooperation from all sides," he said. Chief Election Commissioner Upreti assumed the office immediately after being administered the oath of office and secrecy. At the Election Commission, he was welcomed by Secretary Narayan Malego and other officials, said Anil Kumar Thakur, Spokesperson at the Commission. nnnn