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Nepal
2007: On the Way to Democracy and Peace
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Carter
Center Election Observation Mission in Nepal: Pre-Election
Statement
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KATHMANDU,
8 June2007, Carter Center Election Observation Mission
This
statement presents the observations and continued findings of the Carter
Center's international election observation mission in Nepal. In
March 2007, the mission deployed 13 long-term observers (LTOs) representing
nine different nationalities throughout Nepal to assess the political and
electoral environment in the period leading up to the constituent assembly
election. The Center's observers have now visited more than 70 of
Nepal's 75 districts, reaching not only to district headquarters but also
to the village level.
The
observations and recommendations below build upon the Carter Center's April
16 pre-election statement and are based on information gathered by the
Center's headquarters staff and long-term observers in meetings with electoral
authorities, government officials, political party and civil society leaders,
security officials, Nepali citizens, and representatives of the international
community.
The
Carter Center conducts election observation activities in a nonpartisan,
professional manner in accordance with applicable Nepali law and international
standards for election observation as set forth in the Declaration of Principles
for International Election Observation. The Center coordinates closely
with other international and domestic observer delegations and publishes
statements of its findings and recommendations on its Web site: www.cartercenter.org.
The goal of the Center's mission in Nepal is to demonstrate international
support for and provide an independent assessment of the constituent assembly
electoral process. The Center hopes that its activity will help ensure a
credible process that is accepted by the people of Nepal and which serves
to consolidate the gains of the ongoing peace process.
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| Key
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A.
Sustain
focus on electoral preparations
The
Carter Center is encouraged by the recent Eight Party agreement regarding
a late November/early December timeframe for the constituent assembly election
as well as the resumption of business in the interim legislature-parliament.
Furthermore, the June 7 registration of a second bill to amend the interim
constitution and discussions in the State Affairs Committee on the constituent
assembly electoral system indicate that the political deadlock of the past
several months is potentially coming to an end.
While
the Center is heartened by this resumption of electoral activity, concerns
remain about the multiple outstanding issues that need to be addressed
in an increasingly short time frame in order to facilitate a winter election.
In order to ensure that the electoral legislation is widely accepted and
facilitates progress in the electoral process, there is a critical need
for consultation and buy-in from marginalized groups on the mechanism for
inclusivity and the delimitation of new electoral constituencies.
Following such agreement, the Center hopes that electoral legislation will
be passed promptly and a new election date declared. The 110 day
threshold the election commission has requested will expire in early August,
and the decision of a date will enable the commission to best plan its
efforts and reaffirm the Nepali public's faith that an election is forthcoming.
As
the political leadership debates various electoral issues, the Center reiterates
its recommendation to reconsider the issue of ranked candidate lists in
the proportional representation system. The system presently being
discussed would allow parties to give elected seats to any candidate within
their proportional representation candidate list after the election result
has been declared, rather than allocating the seats starting from an already
ranked candidate list. The former system, if adopted, would remove the
ability of voters to know who they are likely to elect from a given party
and would provide political parties with disproportionate control over
their candidates. As both systems will allow for the quotas for marginalized
groups presently being discussed to be preserved, the Center encourages
the political leadership to select the process which will be most transparent
for voters.
The
Center hopes that the Eight Party Alliance's recent initiatives indicate
recognition that conducting the constituent assembly election is a shared
responsibility. A collective and serious plan to deal with the pressing
issues currently facing the country is necessary as is the announcement
of a new election date. Given the intended transitional nature of
the present government and the challenging political situation, commitment
and cooperation by key stakeholders is essential in order to ensure continued
progress.
The
Center encourages the government of Nepal to focus on the common purpose
of creating a conducive environment for the constituent assembly election,
including action on all outstanding electoral legislation and decisions
together with the new election date following widespread consultation and
buy-in from marginalized groups
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2.
Continue
substantive dialogue with marginalized groups
The
Carter Center commends the government for its stated commitment to resolving
issues of concern to marginalized groups through peaceful dialogue. The
Center further notes the positive steps taken by the government via the
Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction to initiate such dialogue with madhesis,
women, and janajatis. The Center encourages the government to initiate
similar talks with dalit representatives, as they too represent a marginalized
group that should be specifically targeted for inclusion. Reports
from the June 1 negotiation session between the government and the Madhesi
Janadhikar Forum (MJF) indicate that thus far the talks are going well,
and it is hoped that this trend will continue and be repeated with other
groups. Initiation of negotiations is a promising step. However,
there remains significant work necessary to resolve the challenging issues
that are being discussed. It is possible that the issue of marginalized
groups' electoral system demands may need to be separated from the wider
package of concerns raised by these groups in order to allow both the electoral
and the negotiation processes to proceed in parallel.
The
Center notes the importance of public recognition by high-level government
actors that the concerns of marginalized groups are legitimate and merit
attention. It is hoped that not only at the central level but also
at the district and village level significant effort will be made to educate
and include marginalized communities in the constituent assembly process.
Finally, the Center recognizes the commitment of individual district election
officers who have undertaken activities to address issues of inclusion
- such as mapping out linguistic regions within their district ? to facilitate
the implementation of effective voter education efforts, and supports the
broader continuation of such activity.
The
Center encourages the government to continue and strengthen its effort
towards the swift resolution of key relevant issues regarding madhesis,
janajatis, women, dalits, and other marginalized groups.
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3.
Develop
and implement a comprehensive and effective public security plan
The
Carter Center remains worried about the poor security environment in the
country. The Center's long-term observers continue to receive reports
of violence, vandalism, intimidation, and harassment by various groups.
Terai-based groups specifically continue to conduct violent and unlawful
activities, thus severely limiting activity of both Nepali citizens and
government officials. Additionally, Maoist cadres and the Maoist-affiliated
Young Communist League (YCL) persist with activities that violate the May
2006 Code of Conduct. Though Maoist and YCL cadres are also involved
in good works around the country, their continued aggressive behavior negatively
affects the ongoing transition process. Moreover, despite repeated
encouraging public statements by the Maoists at the central level about
the return of property and displaced people and the re-establishment of
police posts, the Center has found there are still significant areas of
the country in which these processes are not moving forward or have in
fact begun to backtrack. Finally, increased general criminality and
lawlessness are also prevalent and add to the weak security environment.
Maintaining
public security in the midst of a conflict transformation process is not
a simple task and Nepal's security environment must be viewed within this
broader context. However, the safety of the populace is critical
to the wider credibility of the ongoing peace process. All parties
must jointly ensure that previous agreements including the Code of Conduct
and agreed upon mechanisms for property return and re-establishment of
police posts are fully implemented. Reports from Carter Center observers
indicate that the Nepal police still lack sufficient capacity and morale,
and this should be addressed in any future security plan. Additionally,
the YCL should be encouraged to continue its good works and positive collaboration
with the state security structure but needs to first eliminate all negative
activity in order to demonstrate to the people of Nepal its desire to contribute
positively to the development of the county.
The
Center reiterates the need for all stakeholders to come together to develop
and implement a comprehensive and effective public security plan in order
to ensure a secure environment for the constituent assembly election.
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4.
Encourage
political and electoral activity at the local level
At
present, Carter Center observers note a striking absence of political and
electoral activity at the local level. Repeatedly, across all districts
and in organisations ranging from political parties to government offices
to civil society groups, Center observers are told that local organisations
are "waiting for instructions from the central level." While central
coordination is clearly necessary in order to ensure efforts are effective,
there are a large number of active supporters whose energy is not being
utilized. Devolving some degree of authority to local level actors
and encouraging them to initiate planning and outreach on any number of
topics - including civic education - can only serve to benefit these organisations
as well as the Nepali people.
The
Carter Center notes the importance of local level participation in the
political and electoral process and supports any activities that expand
the opportunities for grassroots activism and outreach.
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CONCLUSION
Nepal
is in the midst of a challenging transition process and The Carter Center
heartily commends all key stakeholders as well as the people of Nepal for
the progress that has been achieved thus far. The Center reiterates
its view that there is an urgent need for joint action towards a set of
common goals: sustaining focus on electoral preparations and passing critical
legislation, continuing substantive dialogue with marginalized groups,
implementing an effective public security plan, and encouraging political
and electoral activity at the local level. There is a serious amount
of work for Nepali leadership to do in a short time if constituent assembly
elections are truly to take place in November. The Center believes
that the above recommendations will help serve to consolidate the gains
of the peace process and facilitate the conducting of a credible constituent
assembly election in the agreed timeframe.
The
Carter Center hashelped to improvelife for people inmore than 65 countries by presolving
conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity;
preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers in
developing nations to increase crop production. The Carter Center was founded
in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in
partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
Source:Carter
Center Election Observation Mission 2007
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