Delayed elections threaten peace

Nepal’s key political parties have expressed concern that the country’s hard-earned peace is at risk due to delayed national elections.

The elections had been set for June, but the recent announcement by the Election Commission (EC) to postpone voting has caused fear and frustration among the main political parties.

According to the parties, holding national elections for the Constituent Assembly (CA) in June was among the key agreements to pave the way for a politically stable and peaceful nation.

Nepal is currently under the administration of eight parties which form a temporary coalition government.

The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPNM), the party of former rebels who joined the new interim government in March, said that the delay puts the ongoing peace process at risk.

“There is a conspiracy going on to derail the peace process,” claimed Janardhan Sharma, a central committee member and one of the leaders of the CPNM.

News of the delay emerged on 13 April when the Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel said there was not enough time to prepare for elections in June.

“The commission requests the government of Nepal to announce a date for elections appropriate for all, including the voters, political parties, election staff and observers,” said Pokharel.

He added that it would take at least 100 days to prepare the legal process for the elections, including formulating rules and guidelines, voters’ education, training of electoral staff and agreeing code of conduct.

In addition, election offices are still to be set up, the electoral register has to be completed, and the parties have to be officially recognised.

Elsewhere, the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) party has blamed the government leadership, especially Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, for the delay.

“The inefficiency of the government and the prime minister as the chief executive is to be blamed for this situation,” said a statement by the UML on Sunday.

The CPNM has warned that the postponement is a threat to the unity of the transitional government.

“The basis of that unity was elections to the constituent assembly and this seems to have ended,” said Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of CPNM.

But other major parties such as the Nepali Congress disagree and are in favour of the rescheduling due to insecurity in many parts of the country.

“The priority for now is to create a safe environment, and an atmosphere which is free from fear is needed to ensure a fair election,” said Sher Bahadur Deuba, president of the Nepali Congress.

The elections were delayed at the request of the EC, and international analysts agree that this was the right move.

“The CA election is pivotal to the peace process but it is too short a time to hold by June. But the delay would help to make it more comprehensive and reasonable,” said Natalie Hicks from the London-based NGO International Alert.

A truce was reached between the Maoist rebels and the Nepalese government in November 2006, ending a decade of armed conflict that killed over 14,000 people and internally displaced over 200,000 persons.

nn/ar/jm