Election Results 43 3.4 Electoral Dispute Resolution 44 3.5 Formation of the Government 45

Observation of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly Election-2013 National Secretariat Satoaki Memorial Building, Kupondole–10, Lalitpur, Nepal GPO Box: 26550, Tel: +977-01-5541502, Fax: +977-01-5541503 Email: [email protected], [email protected] [email protected], web: www.neocelection.org CA Election Observation Comprehensive Report Advisor : Surya Prasad Shrestha Chief Editor : Dr. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti Sub-Editors : Deepika Naidu Bikal Shrestha Expert Contribution : Prof. Kapil Shrestha Micheal Vurens Vanes Bhadra Sharma Coordination Team : Bhawani Prasad Kharel Lhakpa Lama Thematic Team : Krishna Prasad Subedi Nabaraj Basnet Special Assistance : Binda Kumari Nepali Parbati Paudel Pasang Sherpa Layout/Design : Bhim Prasad Neupane “Dipesh” Financial Assistance : Delegation of the European Union to Nepal Publisher : National Election Observation Committee (NEOC) Copyright© : NEOC ISBN : 978-9937-2-8044-0 Printing : Ganga Jamuna Pvt. Ltd. Tel:01-4386934 Year of Publication : April, 2014 No. of Copies : 800 Table of Contents Page No. Message from the Chairperson Executive Summary Chapter 1- Introduction 1 1. Background 1 i. An Overview of Political Situation 1 ii. The Context of CA Election 3 iii. Formation of Election Government 4 iv. Formation of the Election Commission 5 v. Constitutional Arrangement for Election 6 2. NEOC and Election Observation 7 2.1 Coordination of Election Observation 8 2.2 Election Observation Directives 10 3. Election Administration and Management 11 4. Voter Education 13 5. Poll Rejection 14 Chapter 2 – Electoral Cycle and NEOC Observation 16 1. Pre-Election Setting 16 1.1 Voter Registration 16 1.2 Legal Framework and electoral systems 18 1.3 Constituency Delimitation 20 1.4 Political Party Registration 20 1.5 Participation and Inclusion 21 i. Gender Inclusion 21 ii. People with Disabilities 23 iii. Use of Children 24 1.6 Election Campaign 25 1.7 Code of Conduct 27 1.8 Media Monitoring 28 1.9 Cooling Hour 28 1.10 Violence between Contestants 29 1.11 Violence by Poll Boycottists 30 1.12 Violence Mapping 31 2. Election Day Setting 33 2.1 Environment and Preparedness 34 2.2 Deployment of Human Resource 35 2.3 Opening Procedure 36 2.4 Polling Procedure 37 2.5 Violence and Intimidation 39 2.6 Closing Procedure 40 3. Post Election Setting 40 3.1 Ballot Box Transportation 40 3.2 Vote Counting 42 3.3 Election Results 43 3.4 Electoral Dispute Resolution 44 3.5 Formation of the Government 45 Chapter 3 – International Observers’ Lens 46 Chapter 4 – Conclusion 50 Chapter 5 – Analysis and Findings 54 Chapter 6 – Recommendations 57 Statistical Glance 63 Questionnaires 68 Reference 72 Annex 1 – International Observers 75 Annex 2 – Eminent Persons/ National Observers 76 Annex 3 – Executive Committee/ Secretariat/ Volunteers 78 Annex 4 – Preliminary Statement 81 Annex 5 - Interim Report 83 Annex 6 - Election Time Table 87 Annex 7 - Print Media Monitoring 88 Annex 8 - Election Result 90 Message from the NEOC Chairperson All modern democracies hold elections, but not all elections are democratic. Thus, there also exist the international benchmarks to hold a democratic election. Elections are considered as the central institution of democratic representative governments. In a democracy, the authority of the government derives solely from consent of governed by holding of free and fair elections. Elections by their nature can be confrontational but the crux of the issue is that even the losers uncritically accept judgment thereby helping the winners secure the legitimacy. The losers, political opposition, should know that electoral defeat does not mean that they will be made to lose their lives or will be forced to go to jail. Democratic elections, after all, are not a fight for the physical survival but a competition to serve. Elections being the competitive process, it is important to ensure that the playing field is clean and level one for all competiting players. Civil liberties, including right to form political party and other human rights associated with freedom of elections are the preconditions for a transparent and democratic election. The party in power must not be made to enjoy the advantages of incumbency. The Election Commission (EC) of Nepal has produced a remarkable legal document, the Election Code of Conduct (CoC) to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections by prohibiting electoral offences, malpractices, corrupt policies such as bribing, inducement to the voters, issuing any kind of threats and intimidation to the voters, candidates and their supporters. The CoC has been a tool, which largely contributed making the electoral process credible, free, fair, transparent and accountable which will help in consolidation of democratic culture in the country. Even the reputed international observers have commended Nepal's Election CoC. Likewise, the introduction of a more scientific and unbiased voter registration system containing the photograph and other biometric data of the registered voter also seems have contributed significantly to prevent electoral irregularities and malpractices. Because, there is no denying the fact that an unclear voters' list had been the prime source of electoral irregularities and violence. A free, fair and fearless election is possible only when the prevalent political system and culture of electioneering is conducive in maintaining the sanctity of election. Nepal has experimented with various elections in the past, the first democratic election being the 1959 parliamentary poll. Since then, Nepali people have participated in a number of national and local elections including a National Referendum in 1980. Nepali people have also experienced a series of elections before arriving at the recently held CA election. The CA election-2070 witnessed a space of explosions, intimidations, threats and even murder of a candidate in the southern plains. The use of violence by those opposing poll had created somewhat dreadful environment. In several instances, restriction on freedom of movement, obstruction on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly also reported in many parts of the country. However, none of these nefarious activities could damper the enthusiasm and commitment of the Nepali voters. Reports of booth capturing and threat to election observers and media personnel have also been documented. The incidents involving the use of money (vote buying), manipulation and use of undue influence could not be ruled out in some instances owing to absence of punitive measures against the wrongdoers. In this connection, I would like to emphasize the fundamental importance of the formation of an Election Management Body (EMB) - an independent constitutional organ free from any political influence and formed on the basis of a fair, transparent and competence-based criteria to ensure a credible election. This must be empowered fully to fix the date of election, register the political parties and their candidates and implement all the procedural matters of the electoral system. Independent commission for recognizing electoral districts be made on time after the latest census and they should work in close cooperation and coordination with the independent election commission. Similarly, the degree of freedom of political parties, alliances and candidates to organize, move, assemble and express their views publicly will also determine the sanctity of elections. Equally important is the issue related to the fair and equal access to media for political parties, alliances and candidates, in particular, the state media, is a prerequisite to retain purity of election in the course of regulating campaign and the Code of Conduct (CoC). The other issue of critical concern is the proper conduct of polling and counting of the votes as described in the electoral law. Finally, an appropriate electoral dispute resolution (EDR) mechanism with a competent and trustworthy process helps determine the actual outcome of the election. Thus, such a mechanism is expected to operate in an impartial and non-partisan manner. The major thrust behind election observation under the auspicious of NEOC is to primarily audit the level of the independence, impartiality, transparency and professionalism of the entire cycle of the electoral process. NEOC’s observation outcome provides independent public assessment in all the three stages of electioneering. The ultimate aim of election observation is to contribute to safeguard and promote democratic values, human rights standards, rule of law and the observance of the norms of an open society. It is my firm belief that a professional and unbiased election observation greatly contributes to strengthening democratic institutions and building public confidence in the electoral processes as the presence of observers obviously helps deter the possible incidences of fraud, intimidation and violence. It is satisfying to note that in spite of some initial hitches, the newly elected Constitutional Assembly convened on 22 January 2014. In all, 565 out of 601 members took the oath of office in 11 different languages, proving once again the reality of Nepal being a multi ethnic, multi lingual and multi cultural country within the umbrella of political parties which duely represents them and unite for broader national interest. Though all parties vowed to deliver a new constitution within one year, in a lackadaisical way the parties took their own time to select PR representatives from the closed list submitted to the EC, be able to fulfill their commitment. In addition to this,

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