International election observing groups on Thursday said that Tuesday’s second Constituent Assembly election was ‘better’ than the first one held in 2008.
The observers commended the role played by the non-partisan Khil Raj Regmi government and the Election Commission.
“This election is better than the last one. I am very proud of this,” said former US President Jimmy Carter, the chair of the Carter Center.
At function organised to release a statement of the preliminary findings and conclusions the observers made, Carter said lack of violence was another important aspect of the election .
He, however, said he was disappointed at the way UCPN (Maoist) leaders raised the issue of vote rigging. “I am very disappointed to hear of the UCPN (Maoist) rejection of the counting process and withdrawal of their party agents,” Carter said. “I trust that they will respect the will of the Nepali voters. They must refrain from violent protests, and I urge them to allow the electoral process to continue.”
Alleging vote rigging, the UCPN (Maoist), which has been trailing behind the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML in several constituencies, on Thursday demanded that the vote counting process be immediately stopped.
According to Carter, winning and losing are part of the democratic process. “I, too, lost election s sometimes and sometimes I won them,” he said.
Immediately after Carter’s statement, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal rushed to meet the former at the Radission Hotel. In the meeting, Carter urged Dahal to accept the public voice spoken in the election .
“Mr President advised me to resolve the dispute in a democratic and transparent manner by taking it up with the higher authorities like the Election Commission, and the other political parties,” Dahal told reporters after the meeting. Before the meeting with Dahal, Carter met President Ram Baran Yadav, Government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi and Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety and advised them to resolve the Maoist dispute by forming an appropriate dispute resolution mechanism.
“The trust that voters have placed in their representatives comes with the responsibility to deliver. More political infighting, stalemate, and disagreement will mean more years in which Nepal’s youth go without jobs, the economy lacks the political stability needed to reassure investors, and the sacrifices of the political transition remain unfulfilled,” the Carter Center, meanwhile, said.
Another observation group, Asian Network for Elections (ANFREL) also lauded the role of the government and the EC in making the election a success. “On the whole, the poll was done in a very credible manner. People cast their ballot by defeating the protests of anti-poll groups,” said Damaso Magbul, the Philippine head of mission, in an interim report.
The report, however, pointed out lapses in voter education programmes and lamented that voters without citizenship cards were left out.
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) also made public its report on the election . Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, EUEOM chief observer Eva Joly said the polls were held in a “managed way” and in a peaceful environment.
“We found that the election was conducted genuinely,” she said, adding that if any political party is dissatisfied with the process, it should present evidence and adopt legal ways to register a protest, she said.
“The strong and enthusiastic commitment of voters and other stakeholders to participate not only in the polls but in the entire election process is noteworthy,” said Joly.
“The EUEOM considers that the EC has acted in an independent and impartial manner and has enjoyed public confidence throughout the entire electoral process,” the mission said. The EUEOM had deployed 34 long-term observers to monitor election in 65 districts.
The observers commended the role played by the non-partisan Khil Raj Regmi government and the Election Commission.
“This election is better than the last one. I am very proud of this,” said former US President Jimmy Carter, the chair of the Carter Center.
At function organised to release a statement of the preliminary findings and conclusions the observers made, Carter said lack of violence was another important aspect of the election .
He, however, said he was disappointed at the way UCPN (Maoist) leaders raised the issue of vote rigging. “I am very disappointed to hear of the UCPN (Maoist) rejection of the counting process and withdrawal of their party agents,” Carter said. “I trust that they will respect the will of the Nepali voters. They must refrain from violent protests, and I urge them to allow the electoral process to continue.”
Alleging vote rigging, the UCPN (Maoist), which has been trailing behind the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML in several constituencies, on Thursday demanded that the vote counting process be immediately stopped.
According to Carter, winning and losing are part of the democratic process. “I, too, lost election s sometimes and sometimes I won them,” he said.
Immediately after Carter’s statement, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal rushed to meet the former at the Radission Hotel. In the meeting, Carter urged Dahal to accept the public voice spoken in the election .
“Mr President advised me to resolve the dispute in a democratic and transparent manner by taking it up with the higher authorities like the Election Commission, and the other political parties,” Dahal told reporters after the meeting. Before the meeting with Dahal, Carter met President Ram Baran Yadav, Government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi and Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety and advised them to resolve the Maoist dispute by forming an appropriate dispute resolution mechanism.
“The trust that voters have placed in their representatives comes with the responsibility to deliver. More political infighting, stalemate, and disagreement will mean more years in which Nepal’s youth go without jobs, the economy lacks the political stability needed to reassure investors, and the sacrifices of the political transition remain unfulfilled,” the Carter Center, meanwhile, said.
Another observation group, Asian Network for Elections (ANFREL) also lauded the role of the government and the EC in making the election a success. “On the whole, the poll was done in a very credible manner. People cast their ballot by defeating the protests of anti-poll groups,” said Damaso Magbul, the Philippine head of mission, in an interim report.
The report, however, pointed out lapses in voter education programmes and lamented that voters without citizenship cards were left out.
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) also made public its report on the election . Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, EUEOM chief observer Eva Joly said the polls were held in a “managed way” and in a peaceful environment.
“We found that the election was conducted genuinely,” she said, adding that if any political party is dissatisfied with the process, it should present evidence and adopt legal ways to register a protest, she said.
“The strong and enthusiastic commitment of voters and other stakeholders to participate not only in the polls but in the entire election process is noteworthy,” said Joly.
“The EUEOM considers that the EC has acted in an independent and impartial manner and has enjoyed public confidence throughout the entire electoral process,” the mission said. The EUEOM had deployed 34 long-term observers to monitor election in 65 districts.
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