Nepali King Gyanendra said Tuesday that the highest priority must be accorded to the creationof an environment for the transfer of the country's governance to the elected representatives by general elections within a year.

In a message to the nation on the occasion of the New Year's Day of Nepali calendar year 2061, the king said all those who havefaith in multi-party democracy must be able to participate in these polls without let or hindrance.

Gyanendra said it is clear that peace and security are Nepalesepeople's prime desire as well as the nation's necessity, therefore,"fulfilling this desire and activating a representative form of governance in accordance with the norms and values of multi-party democracy at the earliest must now be at the top of our national agenda."

In a similar massage, Nepali Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapaassured that the present government is seriously working toward creating a conducive environment for holding the general electionsas called by the king recently.

King Gyanendra on March 28 announced the country will hold general elections within a year's time for the lower house of the parliament, which was dissolved by the king at the recommendation of the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Source: Xinhua