EC working in full swing to hold CA polls
The Election Commission (EC) is working in full swing to hold elections of the Constituent Assembly in six months.
The ruling seven party alliance and the Maoists had agreed to hold the election of the constituent assembly by mid June 2007.
“We have come up with a framework of laws and regulations needed to do our job. The framework will be given full shape once we get political guidelines,” The Himalayan Times daily quoted Laxman Bhattarai, the EC spokesperson as saying.
Apart from updating the voters’ list, the EC is also holding a series of consultations with stakeholders these days. For the first time in Nepal, the elections will be held on the basis of proportional representation.
Meetings have been held with representatives of all eight parties and other diplomats. With the objective of helping conduct CA elections in a free and fair manner, foreign delegates have been holding consultations with election commissioners at the EC office.
“We have meetings almost every day. People from all walks of life are showing interest in the CA elections. Their enthusiasm has made us happy. Foreign delegates too want to see elections taking place in time,” he added.
The EC has formed seven committees to garner support from stakeholders.
Bhattarai urged political parties to come up with concrete laws governing elections. He said Nepal may not need to hire foreign consultants for holding CA elections.
However the EC is yet to formally get mandate for holding the elections of the constituent assembly as the 1990 constitution did not have the provision of holding the CA polls.
The eight political parties are yet to adopt the interim constitution to formally mandate the EC for holding the CA polls.
There is doubt on whether the EC polls will be held in time or not as the eight political parties failed to meet the deadlines in the issue of keeping Maoist combatants in cantonment sites and adopting the interim constitution. nepalnews.com pb Nov 26 06
