Kathmandu
After waiting for five decades for an election that would empower
people to write their own constitution, Nepal's dreams came crashing
down yet again as its multi-party government decided to defer the
crucial polls a third time to stave off a deadly confrontation with
the Maoist guerrillas.
Only a single party in the ruling alliance, the Communist Party of
Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), struck a note of dissent as
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the warring Maoists agreed
to freeze all poll preparations and call a special session of
parliament where they would make a last-ditch effort to reach an
understanding.
After marathon negotiations for nearly a week that failed to break
the deadlock between Koirala and the guerrillas, the top parties
began yet another meeting Friday for an official announcement to
suspend the poll process.
A sitting of the cabinet, which will endorse the proposal and
formally ask the Election Commission to suspend the election
programme, would follow the meeting.
The decision will affect the much-awaited constituent assembly
election scheduled for Nov 22.
After already being postponed twice, it will now be deferred yet
again, probably to April-May, as had been earlier proposed by the
Maoists.
The UML's top leaders, however, have condemned the decision, saying
it would push Nepal to the brink of an endless crisis.
There is growing speculation that the failure would mean the end of
Koirala's leadership. The octogenarian prime minister had vowed to
quit if he failed to hold the election in November.
The Koirala government will cut a sorry figure in the international
arena. Nepal's major donors, including India, the US and the
European Union, had warned the government that it would lose
legitimacy if it failed to hold the election on time.
The crisis was triggered by the Maoists, who quit the government
last month and began pressing for the immediate abolition of
monarchy and adoption of a fully proportional representation system.
Koirala refused to heed either demand, creating a deadlock that put
the election in doubt since last month.
It caused the government to appeal to the Election Commission to
extend the dates for filing nominations since the Maoists had
threatened to prevent the exercise.
The five-day extension given by the commission for filing the first
set of nominations ends Friday.
The poll panel's reaction is also being awaited with bated breath.
The chief election commissioner, Bhoj Raj Pokhral, had warned the
government that it would not reshuffle the poll schedule a second
time.
While the parties and the guerrillas are bickering in the capital,
eastern Nepal and parts of the Terai plains in the south remain
paralysed.
An alliance of six ethnic communities has called an indefinite
general strike since Wednesday in a bid to block the constituent
assembly election.
The Sanghiya Ganatantrik Rastriya Morcha, that includes Maoist
dissenters as well as the splinter of a powerful Terai organisation,
has called the protest to press its demand for the abolition of
monarchy before the election, the formation of autonomous states for
different communities and a fully proportional electoral system.
A dissident former minister and his followers have called a
three-day general strike in the Terai plains from Thursday.
Rajendra Mahato, who last week resigned as minister for commerce,
industry and supplies, quit the cabinet in a huff after a feud broke
out in his Nepal Sadbhavana Party and the Election Commission
recognised the dissidents as the bona fide party.
The constituent assembly election seems to be under a curse in
Nepal.
Though King Tribhuvan, who ruled in the 50s pledged to hold the
election, he never kept his promise and his successors staged coups
to seize absolute power.
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
