Nepalese were looking for 'peace dividend': CEC Pokhrel
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) at the Election Commission, Bhoj Raj Pokhrel, said Nepalese across the country came out in huge numbers and took part in the Constituent Assembly elections on April 10 this year as they were aspiring for 'peace dividend.' According to the EC, some 63 percent of the voters took part in the elections-- an impressive number if compared with Western democracies.
Saying that CA polls were part of the peace process, CEC Pokharel said despite shortcomings the CA polls had helped break political stalemate in the country and prove once again that Nepalese could decide their future on their own. Addressing an interaction organised at the Nepali embassy in London on Tuesday evening, the Chief Election Commissioner said twice-postponed elections could take place in Nepal thanks mainly to the watchdog role played by the civil society and media and also the continuous support and good will of the international community.
He thanked the political leadership, bureaucracy and security agencies for their role and support in conducting the elections. He recalled his conversation with Prime Minister G P Koirala who had asked him to conduct polls in June last year citing his poor health. Highlighting the features of Nepal's CA polls, Pokhrel said Nepal now has the 14th largest number of women members in the legislature around the world and that there was a very huge participation of women voters in the elections. He further said that the CA polls were one of the cheapest post-conflict elections anywhere around the world (costing around 2 dollars per voter).
Responding to a query, Pokhrel said Election Commission of Nepal had learnt a number of lessons from the recent polls and was commited to conduct free and fair polls in the best possible manner in future. He also said that personally he was in favour of allowing the Non-Resident Nepalese to take part in the elections in the country but added that the issue was something Nepal's policy-makers had to decide.
Mr Pokhrel is currently in the UK to take part in the 7th Assembly of Electoral Democracy to be held at Trinity College in Cambridge on 10-11 July. The programme has been sponsored by teh Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Center.
At the start of the function, Nepali ambassador to UK, Murari Raj Sharma, introduced Mr Pokhrel as one of the most competent Nepali bureaucrats and lauded his and his colleagues' role in conducting a largely peaceful CA polls in the country. He expressed hope that Nepal would now enter into an era of peace and stability despite initial hiccups. First Secretary at the embassy, Jhabindra Prasad Aryal, conducted the programme.
Representatives of various organisations based in the UK and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK, took part in a reception organised by the embassy in honor of Mr Pokhrel. nepalnews.com July 09 08
