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Municipal polls a “hollow attempt” to legitimize royal power: US govt.

In the first international reaction to the Wednesday’s municipal polls, the United States has said that “Nepal's municipal elections called by the King represented a hollow attempt to legitimize his power.”

Addressing a press briefing in Washington D. C. on Wednesday, spokesman of the US State Department, Sean McCormack, said there was a clear lack of public support for these elections. “ Voter turnout in the capital is estimated at under 25 percent. Outside Kathmandu, turnout was
reportedly half that level in some places,” he said.

The spokesman further said (Nepal) government detained large numbers of political activists before the elections, restricted media and refused to allow independent outside monitors. Maoist intimidation and killing of candidates during the campaign also marred the vote. There is no political cause that justifies the use of violence, he added.

The only way to effectively deal with the threat posed by the Maoists is to restore democracy in Nepal, McCormack said. The US government has also renewed its call on His Majesty the King to release all political detainees and initiate a dialogue with the political parties. “His continuing refusal to take these steps is leading his country further down the path of violence and disorder,” the spokesman said.

Latest reports say nearly 20 percent of the eligible 1.4 million voters took part in the municipal polls that was marked by Maoist violence and the call for boycott by the opposition parties.

The authorities have, however, expressed “satisfaction’ on the conduct of polls saying that it was a democratic exercise. nepalnews.com by Feb 09 06