While the Sushila Karki-led government is holding discussions with parties about preparations for the elections, the UML has come out against the government.
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While parties like the Congress, Maoists, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Unified Socialist Party (USP) and others are preparing to go to the elections, the UML is in favor of restoring the dissolved House of Representatives.
The UML has recently been aggressive towards the government formed under the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, who has the main responsibility of holding elections.
At a meeting and tea reception held on Saturday at the party central office in Chyasal, which was set on fire by protesters on 24 Bhadra, UML Chairman Oli claimed that the country is going backwards and is staging an election drama. ‘Banning and suppressing political parties and holding elections on 21 Falgun? This election is not going to be held, that is why we have called for the restoration of the dissolved parliament,’ he said.
Oli said that the election will be discussed only after the government controls those who looted police weapons and set fires on 24 Bhadra. ‘Shouldn’t those who looted police weapons be taken into account? Will elections be held immediately? Take the criminals under control and then we can talk about elections,’ he said.
After the government, on the recommendation of the commission formed to investigate the incidents of 23 and 24 Bhadra, stopped the then Prime Minister Oli’s foreign trips and prohibited him from traveling outside the Kathmandu Valley without permission, the UML has decided to oppose the government. The UML has moved forward with the agenda of restoring the House of Representatives, rejecting the party's demand for preparations for elections along with the demand for the restoration of the parliament.
The recent central committee meeting also concluded that the government is moving forward on the path of not holding elections. 'The government seems intent on pushing the country towards a multifaceted crisis, not on laying the foundation for elections. Preparations are being made to enter into agreements with other countries that will have a long-term impact on the country,' the UML decision states. 'Since the current situation of not being able to hold elections and the absence of the House of Representatives will create a terrible situation of political vacuum and instability, the UML demands that the House of Representatives, which was dissolved unconstitutionally and undemocratically, be restored, and only that can return the country to the path of democracy.'
The UML has been claiming that the Karki government is unconstitutional. The UML alleges that the government is following the path of prohibition without dialogue with political parties. The UML has also commented that the government is 'intending to prolong the unelected government'. ‘Let alone dialogue, consultation and cooperation with the parties as the main aspects of the election, they are not even willing to contact them. On the contrary, they are walking on the path of prohibition and confrontation,’ the UML has said.
The UML has concluded that the election cannot be held when there are threats such as not allowing the parties to participate in the election, annulling the results they won, and not allowing the leaders to leave the country with various cases. ‘The government is silent. How can political parties go to the people fearlessly in the current situation where weapons and ammunition looted from the police are being kept outside, prisoners are being allowed to walk freely and return to criminal activities?’ The UML asks, ‘Can voters reach the polling station without fear?’
There is also a view within the UML that preparations should be made to participate in the election to be held on 21 Falgun. Vice-chairmen Yubaraj Gyawali and Ashtalakshmi Shakya have expressed a different opinion, saying that the decision not to participate in the election is not appropriate even though the demand for the restoration of the House of Representatives is justified. Immediately after Chairman Oli announced the party's decision not to participate in the elections, Gyawali had expressed a different opinion in writing. "The demand to restore the House of Representatives can be taken forward as a program. The decision not to participate in the elections is wrong," was Gyawali's opinion. Shakya supported his different opinion.
Even though most of the leaders who voted in the central committee asked what to do if the parliament is not restored and whether to prepare for the elections, Chairman Oli had said that he could not participate in the elections. Even though it has been decided to move forward to restore the parliament, the UML is preparing to internally mobilize the party organization for the elections. "The demand for the restoration of the House of Representatives is the first, but internal preparations are being made considering the situation before the elections," said a UML leader. "The party understands well that boycotting the elections sends the wrong message."
UML has urged cooperation between all forces supporting the constitution, the parties in parliament and all democratic parties to return the country to the democratic path, keeping in mind the current challenging situation where the achievements achieved by the Nepali people after a long struggle are being undermined.
Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, speaking at the party central office on Saturday, urged UML and other political parties to create an environment for the elections. He said that the decision of the UML central committee would lead the country further towards crisis.
