UML General Secretary Pokharel argues that it is possible to go for early elections by re-establishing the House of Representatives and amending the constitution to move the country on a constitutional path, addressing the demands of the youth.
What you should know
CPN-UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel has said that he will not campaign for the February 21 election. He argued that the environment for the election has not been prepared and the government is not focused on making the election fair.
At a meeting organized by Press Chautari Nepal, Rupandehi in Butwal on Monday, General Secretary Pokharel also claimed that UML will not run from the elections if a credible environment is created. ‘Why should a party advocate for an election that will not happen?’ he said, ‘The government’s activities are not towards holding elections, the Election Commission says that there will be no elections.’ He said that some political parties called the elections out of fear that they would anger Gen-G. He also claimed that this government was not formed to hold elections.
‘UML has a clear stance. This government is not for elections, and it will not hold elections even if it does. There is no point in holding elections that do not have legitimacy like 2059,’ he said, ‘The government has not paid attention to boosting the morale of the police, which is an important force for elections, whose weapons have been taken away and which has weakened it.’ He said that there is no possibility of holding elections until the civil society and the police, which have been terrified by prisoners and looted weapons of the police, come out of the psychology of fear.
Pokharel claimed that it was clear that the government did not want to hold elections because it did not want to engage in dialogue and discussions with political parties. He also clarified that the solution to the current challenging moment was the restoration of the House of Representatives. Pokharel argued that the UML is not a party that will run away from the elections, but the solution to the current challenging situation was the restoration of the House of Representatives.
He said that the House of Representatives could be re-established to move the country on a constitutional path, amend the constitution, and address the demands of the youth and go for early elections. Pokharel said that there is a history of both the streets and the courts being able to restore the parliament.
Pokharel said that the incidents of Bhadra 23 and 24 were interpreted differently, arguing that this was not correct. ‘The party office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was not burnt down during that movement, nothing happened in the main administrative building of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Ward offices were set on fire, the Rashtrapati Bhavan was burnt down, but nothing happened to Nirmal Niwas,' he said, 'This also shows who were the ones who were causing destruction in the name of the movement.' He claimed that the UML had seen enthusiasm in the party after it went on the movement demanding the restoration of parliament.
