Sunday, October 16, 2005
UWB - Election Boycott Begins From Dailekh
आज OCT 17 United We Blog को बिषेश कुरा
यो कुरा ले मेरो केहि हद सम्म हिम्मत बढाइ दिएको छ। यो सुरुवात हो प्रतिकारको, राजाको चुनाबी घोषणा को बिरोधमा म पहिले देखिनै सोचने गर्थे कि यत्रो बर्ष भोट दिने अधिकार पाएका नेपाली हरुले प्रजातनत्र नै भनेको राजाले गराउने होइन भनेर पनि त बुझेका होलान् नि!
The wave of boycott has begun. People have started boycotting and disrupting the municipal elections that the royal government plans to hold on Magh 26 (8 Feb). Locals in Dailekh have flushed out cadres of Rastrabadi Milan Kendra, a political party, on who went to campaign for the upcoming poll in the districts Narayan Municipality. People didn’t even hear the cadres. “This party has many former Maoist sympathizers,” said a farmer from Municipality’s Ward No 3 who sells milk in district headquarters. “That is why our villagers decided to boycott all the programs of elections.”
Old royalists like RPP affiliated Bhakta Bahadur Shahi, nominated chairman of the District Development Committee, and Assistant Minister in the royal cabinet Binod Shah have just arrived in the district to intensify the campaign for their candidates in the election. According to Ganesh Khadga, chairman of the district committee of Nepali Congress, cadres of Rastrabadi Milan Kendra wanted to go ahead of Bhakt Bahadur Shahi and Binod Shah in the campaign race.
Three RMK men- Bhakta Kishor Shrestha, Chairman, Sadananda Regmi, secretary, and Shanti Sharma, district committee member, had gone to Ward Nos. 3 (Kalimati) and 4 (Bijaura) of the municipality along with handful of cadres for campaign. Locals didn’t allow them to campaign and didn’t listen to them. All cadres ran away from villages.
Secretary Regmi said that they left villages because of a minor debate. “We haven’t stopped our campaign,” he said. “We will go to Ward 9 (Sadu) on Sunday.”
Five pro-democratic political parties with significant presence in the district haven’t yet reacted to the election programs. They are waiting for formal directions from the center. These parties have decided to actively boycott the elections citing that the announcement of election is unconstitutional because the king has unconstitutionally hijacked democracy and assumed executive power.
Burning Question:Why The Election Should Be Boycotted?
Ignoring the call for reconciliation and patch by agitating political parties that represent overwhelming majority in Nepali public opinion, the monarch has recently announced tentative dates for parliamentary polls.
There are mountains of challenges for peaceful, free and fair elections.
Security is the number one issue. Armed Maoists will never allow the voting process without first solving bigger political problems. People will not be able to cast their votes without fear. There is no need of armed presence of Maoists to spread insecurity among voters. There is no need to elaborate the security issue here. Kathmandu is the only place where election can be held without much bloodshed.
Another problem is the king himself. He has unconstitutionally assumed the executive power. Are there any instances of autocrats holding democratic elections? Oh..Pakistan. And we can see how the General is lecturing on democracy. Any election under an autocrat will always elect henchmen of the autocrat.
यो कुरा ले मेरो केहि हद सम्म हिम्मत बढाइ दिएको छ। यो सुरुवात हो प्रतिकारको, राजाको चुनाबी घोषणा को बिरोधमा म पहिले देखिनै सोचने गर्थे कि यत्रो बर्ष भोट दिने अधिकार पाएका नेपाली हरुले प्रजातनत्र नै भनेको राजाले गराउने होइन भनेर पनि त बुझेका होलान् नि!
The wave of boycott has begun. People have started boycotting and disrupting the municipal elections that the royal government plans to hold on Magh 26 (8 Feb). Locals in Dailekh have flushed out cadres of Rastrabadi Milan Kendra, a political party, on who went to campaign for the upcoming poll in the districts Narayan Municipality. People didn’t even hear the cadres. “This party has many former Maoist sympathizers,” said a farmer from Municipality’s Ward No 3 who sells milk in district headquarters. “That is why our villagers decided to boycott all the programs of elections.”
Old royalists like RPP affiliated Bhakta Bahadur Shahi, nominated chairman of the District Development Committee, and Assistant Minister in the royal cabinet Binod Shah have just arrived in the district to intensify the campaign for their candidates in the election. According to Ganesh Khadga, chairman of the district committee of Nepali Congress, cadres of Rastrabadi Milan Kendra wanted to go ahead of Bhakt Bahadur Shahi and Binod Shah in the campaign race.
Three RMK men- Bhakta Kishor Shrestha, Chairman, Sadananda Regmi, secretary, and Shanti Sharma, district committee member, had gone to Ward Nos. 3 (Kalimati) and 4 (Bijaura) of the municipality along with handful of cadres for campaign. Locals didn’t allow them to campaign and didn’t listen to them. All cadres ran away from villages.
Secretary Regmi said that they left villages because of a minor debate. “We haven’t stopped our campaign,” he said. “We will go to Ward 9 (Sadu) on Sunday.”
Five pro-democratic political parties with significant presence in the district haven’t yet reacted to the election programs. They are waiting for formal directions from the center. These parties have decided to actively boycott the elections citing that the announcement of election is unconstitutional because the king has unconstitutionally hijacked democracy and assumed executive power.
Burning Question:Why The Election Should Be Boycotted?
Ignoring the call for reconciliation and patch by agitating political parties that represent overwhelming majority in Nepali public opinion, the monarch has recently announced tentative dates for parliamentary polls.
There are mountains of challenges for peaceful, free and fair elections.
Security is the number one issue. Armed Maoists will never allow the voting process without first solving bigger political problems. People will not be able to cast their votes without fear. There is no need of armed presence of Maoists to spread insecurity among voters. There is no need to elaborate the security issue here. Kathmandu is the only place where election can be held without much bloodshed.
Another problem is the king himself. He has unconstitutionally assumed the executive power. Are there any instances of autocrats holding democratic elections? Oh..Pakistan. And we can see how the General is lecturing on democracy. Any election under an autocrat will always elect henchmen of the autocrat.
# posted by Nepali @ 1:53 PM 
