HLPC authorises govt to take a call

The High-level Political Committee (HLPC) comprising representatives of four major political parties on Monday gave the government the authority to take a call on the disputed provisions in an electoral law.

The decision follows the parties’ failure to settle among themselves the thorny issues in the ordinance to amend the Constituent Assembly Member Act-2008, while it paves way for the government to promulgate the ordinance and announce a date for holding the CA elections.

While the Election Commission has proposed November 14 as the poll date, the government is preparing to announce a final date and form the Constituency Delimitation Commission within a couple of days.

“The parties will give their suggestions on the threshold and other contentious provisions of the ordinance to Interim Election Government Chairman Khil Raj Regmi and the government will take a decision on the basis of those suggestions,” CPN-UML leader Raghu Panta said as he emerged from the HLPC meeting.

The parties, however, agreed to adopt a two to five percent threshold provision for seats under the proportional representation system in elections to be held after the promulgation of a new constitution through the onstituent Assembly.

The one percent threshold, allowing convicts to contest the elections and poll candidates having to disclose property details have been bones of contention among the parties.

In the previous HLPC meeting, the Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML appeared reluctant to allow the government to take a call, while the UCPN (Maoist) and the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha were all for it.

Leaders of the four major parties are scheduled to meet Regmi with their suggestions on the contentious provisions on Tuesday.“By asking the government to settle the issues, they have agreed to retain the provisions of the last CA polls, which did not have a threshold, while the language on the convict provision was ambiguous,” sources privy to the negotiations said. Asked whether the government will remove the threshold and allow convicts to contest the elections, Minister for Information and Communications Madhav Poudel said they are still undecided on the matter. “We will discuss their suggestions before taking a final decision,” he said.

Sources say the government may drop the threshold provision altogether. The government is scheduled to table the ordinance in Thursday’s Cabinet meeting after discussion with stakeholders.

EC to parties: No ‘donations’

POST REPORT

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday directed political parties to not force people to cough up ‘donations’ for election purposes.

The direction follows media reports and complaints filed at the commission that some parties have been forcing people to ‘donate’ money to the parties as they go to the polls.

In an eight-point directive, the commission also cautioned the parties against giving false information regarding the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.

It also urged parties to not use “indecent” language against members of another party while also not criticising the ideology of another party during campaigning for the elections.

The directive further said parties cannot use the media for their campaigns without taking prior permission from the EC.

The EC has also barred the parties from writing graffiti and putting up posters and banners in public places.

Meanwhile, the EC has been arranging logistics for the polls from the government, ministries and diplomatic missions.

EC Spokesperson Bir Bahadur Rai said support is being sought from donor agencies, the EU, the Norwegian government, DANIDA and DFID. He said preliminary consultations on acquiring logistical support from China are under way.

A statement issued by Rai said the government has begun the process to have various materials, including stickers used in ballot boxes and security seals, worth Rs 129.4 million, from Japan.

The EC will also be approaching the Indian government through the Ministry of Finance, requesting for 48 four-wheelers required for the elections.

Labels: News