Nepal: Voting in first local election ends peacefully – All eyes on the 2nd round | Nepali Times

By all accounts, the first round of local elections on Sunday went off much better than anyone had expected, with people voting enthusiastically and in large numbers for their local ward, village and municipality members. However, the Election Commission’s decision to count ballots and declare results immediately has raised concerns about the second phase next month. Even so, the orderly voting and high turnout on Sunday has raised hopes that despite delays caused by a deadlock in the constitution, this could be a landmark on the road to greater inclusion and political devolution.

Nepal: Leaders concerned over ‘security lapses’ | Republica

Growing cases of poll-related violence in the backdrop of the local elections has exposed lapses in the ‘integrated polls security plan’ of the Ministry of Home Affairs. While the existing security arrangements have so far proved successful to contain the activities of the poll-opposing forces, it has failed to take into account other dimensions of the polls security including security of poll candidates and election campaigners.

Nepal: E-voting this time? | Nepali Times

It is still not sure whether there will be local elections in May. But if that happens, it might not just be the first local polls in 20 years but also be the first opportunity to introduce electronic voting across the country. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal visited the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday and learnt about the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in upcoming elections (pic, above). “Local polls are possible in May,” he said, “and Nepalis have already become smart enough to vote electronically. If they can use mobile phones in rural villages, why can they not use voting machines?” The EC has approached Smartmatic, a UK-based company, to buy EVMs. On Tuesday, a representative of Smartmatic showed PM Dahal how its voting machines can be used.

Nepal: Polls likely before May 24 | The Himalayan

The government has decided to officially communicate to the Election Commission to make necessary preparations for conducting local bodies’ elections in the third or fourth week of May. A Cabinet meeting held this evening took a decision to formally write tomorrow to the Election Commission to do the groundwork for conducting elections for village councils and municipalities between May 14 and 24, according to Cabinet Spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communications Surendra Karki. “With this decision, uncertainty about elections has been put to rest,” Karki added.

Nepal: NC pressuring PM to declare civic elections | The Himalayan Times

Nepali Congress leaders have mounted pressure on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to announce local polls so that it will have a chance to lead the government after the local polls as per the gentlemen’s agreement. Senior NC leader Gopal Man Shrestha said that his party had been asking the government to announce election schedules immediately as per the recent understandingbetween the three big parties — the NC, the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre. “We want elections to be held immediately to implement and save the constitution,” he added. NC leaders claim that there was a gentlemen’s agreement between the NC and the CPN-Maoist Centre that the CPN-MC would lead the government till the local elections and the NC would take the mantle of the government after the local polls.

Nepal: Parliament endorses two poll-related bills | The Kathmandu Post

The Legislature-Parliament on Wednesday endorsed two poll-related bills, paving the way for the government to announce the dates for local elections. The Bill to Amend and Integrate Laws Related to the Election Commission and the Bill Related to Voters’ List, which have been endorsed by the House, will come into effect once they are authenticated by the President. Out of nine Acts required to hold three levels of elections—local, provincial and central—-and conduct the elections of president and vice president, three are still under consideration at parliamentary committee. The Ministry of Home Affairs is working on four other bills. However, five Acts—two are set to come into force with their endorsement on Wednesday and three other bills that are under consideration—will be enough to hold local level elections. The government is planning to hold local level elections by mid-May and plans to announce the dates by January 28.

Nepal: House endorses two bills on voters’ list, Election Commission | The Himalayan

The Parliament on Wednesday endorsed the Voters’ List Bill and the Election Commission Bill unanimously. With the endorsement, the House prepared a legal foundation to hold elections as per the new Constitution. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs had tabled proposals to endorse the bills. The State Affairs Committee of the Parliament had forwarded the draft laws to the full House on Monday.

Nepal: Government to announce election date in consultation with Election Commission | My Republica

The State Affairs Sub-Committee (SASC) under the Legislature-Parliament on Monday suggested that the government announce the election date in consultation with the Election Commission (EC) A meeting of the Sub-Committee held in Singha Durbar today has tweaked the election-related bills making it mandatory for the political parties and election candidates to submit the expenditure details spent in the course of election. According to the changes made by the Sub-Committee in the Bill, Clause (2) of the revised Bill Designed to Amend and Integrate Laws Related to the Works, Duties and Responsibilities of the Election Commission-2016, the political parties and election candidates cannot spend more than Rs 500,000 as election expenditure during the elections.

Nepal: Printing ballot papers for local elections may take two months: Election Commission | My Republica

The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday said that it might take at least two months to print the ballot papers for the local elections if additional printing machines are not arranged for Janak Sikshya Samagri Kendra (JSSK). After holding consultations with the officials of JSSK and Education Secretary Shanta Kumar Shrestha, is also the chairperson of JSSK, the Election Commission has reached to the conclusion that printing of ballot papers will not get accomplished in less than two months. It has also stressed the need of seeking alternatives for printing the ballot papers in time. “Printing ballot papers will not be easy unless we purchase new machines or seek alternatives to expedite the ballot printing process,” said Election Commissioner Ila Sharma.

Nepal: Embattled Prime Minister expected to face no-confidence motion | Reuters

Nepal’s prime minister is prepared to face a no-confidence motion in parliament after former Maoist rebels who had backed his coalition withdrew their support but he sees no need to step down, an aide said. The impoverished Himalayan country has been plagued by political turmoil for years and the bid by the Maoists to unseat Prime Minister K.P. Oli and form a new government has ushered in another phase of uncertainty. Oli, who came to power in October when the Maoists offered his party parliamentary backing to build a coalition, faces the prospect of a no-confidence vote if he cannot persuade other parties to stick with him. The main Maoist party accuses Oli of reneging on past promises and is expected to move formally lodge a motion of no-confidence in the prime minister on Wednesday.

Nepal: Amid Protests, Nepal Adopts Constitution | The New York Times

After nearly a decade of delay marked by haggling and political infighting, Nepal formally adopted a constitution on Sunday, with President Ram Baran Yadav calling the moment a realization of “the continuous democratic movements initiated by Nepalese people” after he signed the document. Yet the process that led to the adoption of the Constitution, intended to bring much needed unity to the impoverished, fractious Himalayan nation, proved divisive and was attended by paralyzing strikes and violence that led to more than 40 deaths. The Constitution aims to reinforce Nepal as a secular, democratic republic with a provision for the protection of religion, and establishes seven provinces. Its passage is the latest chapter in a turbulent history that includes a bloody civil war, the overthrow of the 239-year-old monarchy and a devastating earthquake in April that killed thousands and left thousands more homeless.

Nepal: CPN-UML faction against electronic voting machines | eKantipur

The CPN-UML faction led by Madhav Kumar Nepal has rejected the party’s decision to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the Central Committee (CC) election. The Nepal faction has expressed a serious reservation over the effort of the organising committee of the ongoing ninth UML National Congress to use the EVMs for election. Organising a separate press meet on Saturday, UML politburo member, Raghuji Pant, said that a large section of the party representatives are skeptical about the use of EVMs, and demanded the use of paper ballot for the election.

Nepal: Court gives voters right to reject candidates | Business Standard

In a landmark judgement, Nepal’s Supreme Court has given voters the right to cast negative votes during the parliamentary or local elections. The court in the verdict yesterday also directed the government and the Election Commission to introduce laws to this effect so the voters can reject candidates, weeks after India introduced “None of the above” option. A joint bench of justices Kalyan Shrestha and Prakash Wasti issued the order responding to a writ petition filed by two advocates. With this decision, the ballot papers in coming elections will now have a separate option “none of the above” to allow voters to cast negative votes. The court in its order has asked the Prime Minister’s Office, Election Commission and the Ministry of Law Justice, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs (MoLJPA) to ensure negative voting provision in the electoral process.

Nepal: Nepal Maoist probe panel blames electoral body, national army for election fraud | Global Post

The UCPN(Maoist), the third largest party in the new Constituent Assembly(CA) has blamed Election Commission and Nepal Army(NA) for engineering a poll- rigging on Nov. 19 Constituent Assembly(CA). An intra-party panel formed by the party to investigate the alleged irregularities blamed the two state institutions for the defeat of the party. The party, which launched 10-year-long insurgency in 2006 and became the largest party in 2008 CA election, suffered a humiliating loss in Nov. 19 elections, securing only 80 seats in 601-member CA body which is expected to draft a new constitution.

Nepal: Institutionalized poll rigging took place, claims Maoist party | Telegraph Nepal

As per an internal committee formed by the Unified Maoists to investigate presumed election wrongdoings, the party has concluded that the election was rigged in an institutionalized manner and the investigation further reveals that the election commission and security agencies were directly involved in the vote fraud. Now the fun will perhaps begin. The committee led by party leader Barsaman Pun ‘Ananta’ in his findings claims, “The vote fraud was carried out institutionally and at the policy and organizational level.” The committee member Ram Chandra Jha said, “The investigation has revealed that including the Election commission, the security agencies were also involved.”

Nepal: Maoist Popularity Wanes in Nepal Election | Wall Street Journal

Results for Nepal’s national elections show its Maoist party has plummeted in popularity, coming in a distant third and suggesting the former rebels’ influence has diminished in the South Asian nation. The centrist Nepali Congress, one of the country’s oldest political parties, won 2.4 million proportional votes, followed by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), which won 2.2 million votes, the Election Commission said Thursday. The main Maoist party, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), won 1.4 million votes. Exactly how the proportional vote, in which voters pick parties rather than candidates, will translate into seats in the new constituent assembly was expected to be announced by Sunday. Thursday’s count mirrored the results earlier this week of the direct voting, in which voters choose candidates rather than parties, announced earlier in the week. The candidates for the Maoist party—led by the revolutionary leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal —secured only 26 of the 240 seats.

Nepal: Maoists Are Routed in Nepalese Election | New York Times

Nepal’s dominant Communist party was routed, the country’s politics swung sharply to the right, and India’s influence in Nepal is likely to soar after the first set of results from last week’s election were finalized Monday. The Nepali Congress, the country’s oldest political party and one that favors close ties with India, won 105 of the 240 directly elected seats. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) came in second with 91 seats. Despite their party’s name, the Marxist-Leninists are considered centrists in Nepal. The majority of seats in the Constituent Assembly will be determined by proportional votes, and in those preliminary returns the Nepali Congress is again first followed by the Marxist-Leninists, according to the Election Commission of Nepal. Together, the two parties will likely dominate the new Constituent Assembly. Since a two-thirds majority in the Constituent Assembly is required for a constitution to be adopted, however, the Maoists may still play a critical albeit reduced role. The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) secured only 26 seats in the direct election, a small fraction of the total it earned in the 2008 elections.

Nepal: Vote Fraud Is Claimed by Maoists in Nepal | New York Times

In the face of an apparent electoral drubbing, the leader of Nepal’s largest Maoist party demanded a halt to the nation’s vote counting on Thursday because of what he called widespread vote fraud. “Serious national and international forces are behind this, and we demand a suspension to vote counting,” said the Maoist leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the head of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Mr. Dahal said that election workers had smashed ballot boxes and accepted false ballots. He called for an independent investigation and warned that his party might rejoin hard-line Maoists and refuse to participate in the Constituent Assembly if his demands were not met. “We will not join” the assembly, he declared, as Maoist party members marched outside the party’s headquarters, shouting, “We are ready to fight!”

Nepal: Vote Count Begins | Wall Street Journal

Officials began counting votes on Wednesday that were cast during election for a new constituent assembly to draw up a long-delayed constitution and pick a new Nepal government. Election Commission official Bir Bahadur Rai said the counting started in several districts and that boxes filled with ballot papers had reached counting centers in at least 20 districts. In the capital, Katmandu, election officials opened ballot boxes collected from all 10 constituencies at the International Convention Center and began counting the thousands of ballot papers. Mr. Rai said arrangements were being made to fly ballot boxes from some mountain areas by helicopter because snow had blocked roads. Nepal has 75 districts of which most of them are mountainous. More than 70% of the 12 million eligible voters cast their votes during Tuesday’s election in Nepal to choose the 601-member Constituent Assembly that would double as the parliament. First results are expected by late Wednesday and final results are going to take at least a week.

Nepal: High turnout as Nepal voters defy threat | Sky News Australia

Millions of Nepalis have defied low expectations and threats of violence to vote in elections seen as crucial in breaking its political deadlock seven years after a civil war ended. A bombing in the capital Kathmandu early on Tuesday injured three children, but the explosion and a campaign of intimidation by a hardline Maoist splinter group did not prevent turnout reaching at least 65 per cent. At this level it would be higher than the 63.29 per cent turnout recorded during the country’s first post-war elections in 2008, when it voted for a constituent assembly tasked with writing a new constitution. Since then, five prime ministers have served brief terms, the country had no leader for long periods, and the 601-member assembly collapsed in May 2012 after failing to complete the peace process. ‘My vote is for the future of youngsters and the new generations,’ 101-year-old voter Lal Bahadur Rai said in a phone interview from a polling station in northeastern Sankhuwasabha district. Hopes of political unity to complete the peace process were dashed when a 33-party alliance, led by the splinter Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), announced that it would boycott polls and intimidate voters.

Nepal: Maoist party demands stop in vote counting after trailing behind rival parties | The Washington Post

The leader of Nepal’s Maoist party, who appears to have lost in this week’s national election, demanded Thursday that the vote counting be stopped because of what he called massive irregularities. The irregularities occurred during transporting of ballot boxes and also during the counting, said Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leader of the United Communist Party of Nepal Maoists. “We are demanding an immediate stop to the vote counting and an independent probe into the allegations,” Dahal said, adding his party could boycott the Constituent Assembly if its demands are not addressed. He said the party has reports of ballots boxes being hidden for hours, and of ballot boxes being switched while being transported to counting centers, and that several boxes had gone missing.

Nepal: Elections key to peace process in Nepal | AFP

Polling stations in Nepal opened early Tuesday for elections that will be crucial in completing a peace process stalled for several years since the end of a decade-long civil war. “Voting has begun all over the country,” Bir Bahadur Rai, a spokesman for the election commission, told AFP. The vote is only the second since a civil war launched by Maoist rebels concluded in 2006, ending royal rule and transforming the Himalayan nation into a secular republic. Voters lined up outside polling stations nearly an hour before the polls opened on a foggy day in the capital, AFP reporters said, despite fears that many might stay home after recent violence by anti-election hardliners. Nepalis flocked to the ballot box in the first constituent assembly elections in 2008 and delivered an overwhelming victory to the Maoist party, but have since grown frustrated following years of political infighting.

Nepal: Transgenders shut out of voting | AFP

As a Nepalese transgender dancer in her twenties, Nazia Shilalik says her gender has cost her jobs, respect and soon, she believes, it will cost her a vote in upcoming elections. Transgenders had high hopes six years ago when Nepal’s Supreme Court approved third gender citizenship — part of a judgment that ordered the government to enact laws to guarantee the rights of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. But now the fundamental human rights changes that transgenders anticipated look elusive because of a lack of documentation proving their identity. “I would love to (vote), but I know I will not get the chance because I am a transgender person,” said Shilalik. Despite the landmark ruling, the vast majority of transgender people in Nepal are still waiting to obtain vital documentation officially recognising their third sex gender.

Nepal: Elections in Nepal overshadowed by protests | Deutsche Welle

In an attempt to disrupt the upcoming national poll, an alliance of 33 opposition parties in Nepal recently called for a transport blockade, demanding that the current interim administration be disbanded and a new multi-party government be formed to oversee elections at a later date. The group believes the November 19 vote will not be fair if it is overseen by the Chief Justice heading the current caretaker government. But the blockade – set to last until election day – hasn’t gone quite as planned. After thousands of drivers across the country defied the strike, opposition activists resorted to violence, torching cars, forcing businesses to close and bringing much of the South Asian nation to a standstill. The incident is just the latest in a string of political upheavals, exposing the increased level of polarization in one of the world’s youngest democracies. “The bandhs, or strikes, are a typical tool used in Nepal to compel other political parties into granting concessions by paralyzing economic activity,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program of the US-based Brookings Institution. “Every time the moment of taking big decisions arrives, Nepalese politicians pull out the bandh ploy,” she told DW, adding that this pattern had been repeated over the past years, but especially in the run-up to May 2012, when the fourth deadline to pass a new constitution was to expire.

Nepal: Eight injured in pre-election protests in Nepal | GlobalPost

Demonstrators protesting next week’s election in Nepal torched vehicles and hurled an explosive at a bus in Kathmandu late Wednesday, injuring eight people, police said. A 33-party alliance, headed by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), has urged a vote boycott and imposed a ban on motorised transport until November 20. “The attackers threw a petrol bomb at the bus. Eight passengers who were injured have been rushed to the nearby hospital,” Ganesh K.C., a police spokesman told AFP. “Protesters also set eight vehicles on fire and vandalised five other vehicles around the country,” he said.

Nepal: Opposition supporters held in pre-poll violence | BBC

At least 28 people have been arrested in Nepal following a second day of opposition-led protests, Home Minister Madhav Ghimire has told the BBC. He said that they are being held either for attempting to enforce a transport strike on Tuesday or for being involved in violent activities. On Monday night about 40 bus passengers narrowly escaped being burnt to death. Their vehicle was set on fire by protesters opposed to elections next week, local media reported. Several other buses throughout the country were attacked throughout Tuesday. The attacks were all staged by people opposed to the vote on 19 November, authorities say. The opposition has denied it is responsible for all the attacks.

Nepal: Anti-election strike shuts down Nepal | GlobalPost

A general strike aimed at disrupting next week’s parliamentary elections shut down Nepal on Monday, leaving businesses and educational institutions completely shuttered. The strike was called by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist and its 32 small allies, which have announced a boycott of the Nov. 19 Constituent Assembly elections and a nationwide transportation strike from Tuesday until election day. The CPN-Maoist is dominated by communists who split away from their almost identically named mother party — the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) — last year.

Nepal: Protests heighten tensions ahead of election | theguardian.com

Protests and logistical challenges are heightening tensions before a scheduled 19 November national poll in Nepal that is seen as critical to the country’s stability and development, say analysts. Voters are to choose a new constituent assembly (CA), which serves as the country’s parliament. The previous assembly dissolved in May 2012 after failing to produce a much-anticipated postwar constitution. Citizens have looked to a new constitution to help the country emerge from the 1996-2006 civil war that killed more than 15,000 people. But the contentious issues that stalled its drafting, including how to structure the state and share power, remain unresolved. In January 2013, the UN noted that high-level political stagnation was allowing the “slow but persistent deterioration of democratic institutions and effective governance”. The humanitarian costs of the constitutional stalemate are high. Without it, several pieces of legislation, including a disaster management act and the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission, have been on hold. Meanwhile, logistical challenges and threats of violence loom over the polls.

Nepal: Violence flares as election nears | Republica

The number of polls related violence has increased in different parts of the country as the date of the Constituent Assembly election draws near. In eastern Nepal, a group of around three dozen CPN-Maoist cadres attacked UCPN (Maoist) candidate and activists in constituency-2 of Dailekh on Wednesday while the latter were organizing an election campaign at Hulakdanda of Singaudi. The assaulters returned after looting the publicity materials, though UCPN (Maoist) candidate Thira Bahadur Karki was taken to a safe place by the police and the supporters.

Nepal: Need for a turning point towards democratic transition | FIDH

Long-awaited Constituent Assembly (CA) elections will take place in Nepal on 19 November, more than a year after the dissolution of the previous one in May 2012. Given the great hope of the people of Nepal that the newly-elected assembly will succeed in drafting the country’s first constitution in the post-monarchical era, Nepalese authorities should ensure credible and violence-free elections. However, the nomination of candidates involved in serious human rights violations, and threats of boycott, may jeopardize the process. Several candidates, who are suspects in high-profile cases of murder, have been nominated despite repeated calls from national and international organizations and the Supreme Court of Nepal to put vetting measures in place. While the electoral campaign is being marked by a plethora of candidates – approximately 6,000 -, and political parties (122 [1] against 54 in the first CA elections in 2008), some parties, including fringe parties led by the UCPN (Maoist) splinter group, the CPN-Maoist, decided to boycott, and at some point threatened to disrupt the elections.