With less than a month to go for the polls to the constituent assembly and no prospect of a neutral government to conduct the elections in a most free and fair manner, people’s apprehensions are increasing hundred fold regarding the uncertainties looming on the horizon. A heterogeneous government of satellite political parties led by an incompetent leader who plays easy hostage to any bully cannot be expected to meet the rising expectations of the people. And this has been amply proved by the failure of the government to restore the houses and properties looted by the rebel forces during the long ten years of insurgency to their right full owners. Neither has the government succeed to inspire any confidence in the thousands of displaced persons to return to their homes and constituencies to exercise their fundamental rights of voting in the elections. Besides, the total absence of law and order and the continuous extortions, killings and kidnappings have rather aggravated the frustrations of the government to hold the elections in a peaceful manner. In such a volatile situation, the leading political parties have threatened to use their militant youths to influence the elections. And the government seems totally helpless to restrain them. This has only added to the anxieties and fears of the people. Even after all the preparations of the Election Commission and the repeated claims by the politicians that elections cannot be postponed now, a large section of the electorate still harbors severe misgivings. They say ‘there are too many slips between the cup and the lips.’ Be that is it may, we do feel the urgency of a people’s constitution as soon as possible and as such, earnestly hope that the elections to the constituent assembly would not be postponed again. But the thought that these very politicians who have not blinked their eyes to mortgage our country’s honor will again come to the fore if the elections are held, does impel us to wish that the elections be postponed as long an honest and patriotic leadership does not emerge. We don’t know how long we shall have to wait for that to happen and we also don’t know whether the country will be able to preserve its sovereignty till that time. It is, indeed, a great pity that those who can change the situation for the better don’t feel the necessity and it might be too late when they wake up.

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