CPN-Maoist anti-poll drive begins

KATHMANDU, JUL 26 -
The Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist on Thursday officially launched a nationwide campaign against the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections scheduled for November 19. However, the party said it has kept the doors for ‘unconditional talks’ open.

In a symbolic protest, dummy ballot boxes were smashed in all the 75 districts across the country on Thursday. Carrying the broken pieces of the ‘ballot boxes,’ party leaders and cadres distributed pamphlets and appealed to the people to boycott the elections.

The party also announced the formation of  ‘anti-election forces’ that will foil the election process. The ‘forces’ formed in each constituency will begin ‘awareness campaigns’ at the grassroots

level to disrupt the electoral activities being carried out by political parties, the government and the Election Commission, CPN-Maoist leaders said.

“The party will collaborate with other nationalist forces, including the 32 poll-opposing parties and the protests will not stop until the four parties stop the election process,” Baidya told a press conference here. “However, this does not mean that we are completely against the CA elections. We are only opposing elections under the existing circumstances,” he said.

He said his party has received a fresh offer for ‘unconditional talks’ from UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also the coordinator of the High-level Political Committee, and that the 33-party alliance would soon decide on whether to hold the talks. He said both the talks and the protests will be held simultaneously.

Baidya said his party is ready to collaborate even with supporters of former king Gyanendra Shah if they are ready to accept the major achievements of the People’s Movement-II, such as republicanism, secularism, federalism

and other issues of national independence.

The CPN-Maoist -led 33-party alliance has refused to join the election process. It has been demanding that the four major parties scrap the 11-point and 25-point agreements that led to the formation of the Khil Raj Regmi non-partisan government and halt the election process.

The parties have also demanded that all contentious issues in the constitution-writing process be settled through a roundtable conference.

Party General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa launched the anti-poll campaign in Kathmandu by smashing a ‘ballot box’ at Ratnapark.

Party cadres organised anti-election parades and corner assemblies at the headquarters of all the 75 districts.

The recently-concluded State Council meeting of the party has asked cadres to remain prepared for a confrontation if the four parties continue with the poll process by ignoring its concerns.

The party has assigned Central Committee members in each constituency in urban areas to ‘strongly oppose’ the elections. In rural areas, the district and regional level leaders have been entrusted with the task of carrying out the protest programmes.

“There will be multiple phases of the protest, from creating awareness to retaliation if required,” party CC member Ram Prasad Timilsina, who oversees Accham and Bajura districts, said.

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