In a multi-party discussion on the election held in Baluwatar, leaders of the Nepali Congress, UML, Nepali Communist Party, National Independent Party, National Democratic Party, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal, and Janmat Party emphasized the need to create an environment where election campaigning can take place freely.
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Political parties are still skeptical about whether the elections will be held on the scheduled date and about security. In an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Sushila Karki in Baluwatar on Friday, the parties have prioritized peace and security. Prime Minister Karki, however, expressed her commitment to holding the elections on the scheduled date and urged people to be confident about peace and security.
In the multi-party discussion on the election held in Baluwatar, leaders of the Congress, UML, Nepali Communist Party, Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal and Janamat Party emphasized the need to create an environment where election campaigning can take place freely. They also emphasized the need to ensure that voters can reach the polling stations without fear and that candidates remain safe.
At the beginning of the discussion, Acting Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission Ram Prasad Bhandari informed about the preparations of the commission. Stating that the commission has already prepared the work schedule and moved forward, he said that it is working to make the election on 21 Falgun possible in a single phase. Seven people, including all three commissioners, secretary and joint secretary, were present from the Election Commission in the meeting.
Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, Law Minister Anil Kumar Sinha and Communications Minister Jagdish Kharel were also present in the meeting. Since the parties have been emphasizing security issues in previous meetings, Prime Minister Karki had also called the heads of all four security agencies to the meeting. After the commission, Home Minister Aryal and the heads of all four security agencies held a 'briefing' on the security situation and preparations for the election.
After taking oath as Prime Minister on 27 Bhadra, Karki had put the President and the Election Commission ahead in discussions with the parties. Recently, Karki herself has taken the initiative in the dialogue. She held multilateral discussions with the parties on Friday, instead of bilateral ones. She had also held meetings with the parties and Gen-G representatives in the meantime.
When Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli met for the first time after the Gen-G movement on Friday, Prime Minister Karki openly sought cooperation from the parties in Baluwatar. General Secretary Gagan Thapa and leader Pushpa Bhusal from the Congress, General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and leader Mahesh Bartaula from the UML, and Shakti Basnet and Prakash Jwala from the NCP participated in the Baluwatar meeting. Shishir Khanal and Sobita Gautam from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bhuvan Pathak and Rajendra Gurung from the RPP, Prakash Adhikari from the JSP Nepal, and Narendra Chaudhary from the Janmat were present.
Congress leader Pushpa Bhusal said that political parties mainly emphasized the security of the election and the need to hold the election on the scheduled date. ‘Since the Congress has already decided through the central committee to go to the election, we said that the ball is now in the government’s court,’ she said. ‘The main concern of all parties was about the election environment. From election campaigning to voting and vote security, the issues have been kept by the parties.’
UML, on the other hand, expressed doubts about a fair election, citing the challenge of going to the voters. ‘We inquired about the government’s plans and preparations regarding various groups, small arms to the morale of security personnel,’ said UML leader Bartaula. ‘UML will not back down from the election, but we are only concerned that the election will not be held freely.’
According to NCP leader Prakash Jwala, all parties are ready to go to the elections, but there are still doubts about some issues. ‘Since our party has decided to go to the elections and started campaigning, we have suggested creating an environment for the elections and taking the parties along with us rather than doubting,’ he said. ‘They were eager to transfer power by holding the election of the Prime Minister.’
RSP leader Khanal said that he did not distrust the preparations of the commission and security agencies and stressed that the government’s preparations should not be lacking. ‘This government is formed to hold the elections on 21 Falgun, we have asked the government to prepare in a way that will not be missed,’ he said. ‘We had asked voters living abroad whether there would be arrangements for voting, but there was no concrete answer.’
RSP’s Gautam informed that they emphasized that the elections should be held without fear. RPP General Secretary Bhuwan Pathak had said that the RPP would always stand in favor of the elections.
Prime Minister Karki said that the government had not accepted the doubts expressed by the parties regarding the elections. ‘It is the duty of the parties to tell us what the current situation is, what the obstacles are,’ she said in the meeting, ‘We may have seen it from one perspective, you can tell us more from your perspective. This gives us an opportunity to improve and move forward.’
Since there is no interim order in the writs that have reached the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Karki said that the parties should now focus on preparing for the election. ‘The court has its place to do what it has to do. If an interim order had been issued against us, our hands would have been tied. But that has not happened. We have to move forward,’ she said, ‘This government has come to manage the interim period. We are working tirelessly.’
Karki informed that continuous discussions are being held with all parties, political parties, Gen-G, the Election Commission, security agencies, and civil society to hold elections in a timely and fear-free environment. ‘We all have a responsibility towards the country. "Let the country take the pace and direction as demanded by the Gen-G movement," she said, "The Election Commission has immediately taken action and started preparations. Don't think about whether the election will be held or not. Let's think about how to make the election successful. If we are unanimous, no one can disrupt the election. Bad elements cannot attack." She said that the first link of security is the people and only then the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and Army. "We came from the Gen-G movement but are not against the party. Elections are needed to establish political parties," she added.
