Monthly Update – May 2013 UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office Nepal This report is issued by the UN RCHCO with inputs from its UN Field Coordination Offices and other partners and sources. The report covers May 2013. The next report will be issued the first week of July 2013. CONTEXT Political update During the course of May, the Interim Electoral Council of Ministers (IECM) expedited its efforts to prepare the ground for announcing the date of elections. It held several talks with the major four political parties and dissenting parties in its bid to create an environment of compromise on outstanding issues. Though the Chairperson of the IECM, Khil Raj Regmi, publicly announced the government’s commitment to hold the election in the first week of Mangsir (16-23 November, 2013), differences over concessions to the demands of dissenting parties within the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) continued to hold-up the process. The IECM continues to insist that it will not announce the election date until it is in a position to promulgate the outstanding election related legislation. It has also said that if the parties fail to reach consensus on this legislation then it will be compelled to take “appropriate” decisions to move ahead with the election preparation and promulgation of the last electoral law relating to the Election to Members of the Constituent Assembly. Further, the IECM does not intend to appoint the election constituency re-delineation commission until the outstanding constitutional, legal, and political issues are resolved and the election date announced. Consensus in the HLPC is especially needed on issues which require a constitutional amendment to be passed by the President. In late May, despite the parties’ polarization at the HLPC, the cross-party mechanism set up a task force to reach consensus on the most contentious issues (proposed changes to the proportional representation system in the next CA, threshold and eligibility of candidates). Meanwhile, in the HLPC, some parties accepted the dissenting demands to revise the 11-point agreement and the presidential ordinance to remove constitutional difficulties. But other parties opposed it and adhered to their position not to move ahead beyond the letter and spirit of the 11-point agreement and the 25-point Ordinance passed by the President on 13 March. Much political and media attention focused on the negotiation between the parties and the IECM on the contentious issues that needs to be resolved to pave way for the announcement of the election date. The United Nations Secretary-General issued a statement on 24 May urging the parties to solve the outstanding political issues and move forward towards elections1. Operational space There was an increase in disruptions and bandhs during May in comparison to previous months, though the impact on the operational space of Basic Operating Guidelines (BOGs) signatories was moderate. There were only a limited number of bandhs imposed for issues related to the ongoing political process to organize elections and move on with the peace process. The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN- Maoist) was somewhat active during the month, often initiating bandhs in reaction to its party cadres being arrested for their attempts to disrupt voter registration efforts in select locations, including in Surket (16 May) and Rupandehi (30 May) Districts. In the Eastern Region, the Federal Limbuwan State Council (FLSC) affiliated with the Federal Democratic National Front (FDNF) imposed a general strike in nine districts2 from 4 to 7 May, demanding the release of its cadres who were arrested by police while obstructing the voter registration campaign in a VDC of Dhankuta District. Additionally, the Nepal Sadbhawana Party carried out 1 For more details, please see: http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6840. 2 The nine districts are Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, Morang, Sunsari, Dhankuta, Tehrathum and Sankhuwasabha. Monthly Update, May 2013 – UN RCHC Office Tarai bandhs on 12 and 26 May, accusing the government of being indifferent to its 10-Points Demands3 including the declaration of the date of the Constituent Assembly elections. However, the majority of bandhs during the month occurred as outbursts of local grievances, such as in Bajura (regarding a local bridge), Dadeldhura (protests about operationalising a new sub-regional hospital), Surkhet (in tensions about laying a Buddhist statue), Nawalparasi (over youth employment), Jhapa (arrests over timber smuggling), Siraha, Saptari, Sunsari and Morang (over the murder of a prominent Madheshi Muslim leader) and in the Eastern Region in general (over youth employment and student union elections). For the most part, these bandhs affected the movement of BOGs signatories, which restricted or self- restricted vehicle movements and re-scheduled planned implementation activities. UN vehicles and other BOGs signatories also faced obstructions in the case of the bandhs protesting the murder of the prominent Madheshi Muslim leader. EMERGING ISSUES AFFECTING PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT Disruption of citizenship certificate distribution and voter registration mobile camps After halting voter registration efforts on 1 April, the government re-initiated the process by implementing mobile integrated service camps in all districts. These would be empowered to issue citizenship certificates and register citizens on the voters roll, as well as provide additional district-level public services. This was instigated to ensure that eligible voters would not be turned away from voter registration because they lacked citizenship certificates. Overall, attempts by political parties and groups opposed to the ongoing process of the government to implement the camps and conduct voter registration were strong in some locations (sometimes resulting in minor clashes), but there has so far been no cohesive and comprehensive campaign to obstruct. In the Eastern and Central Regions mobile camps were reported to have carried out their activities successfully. However, one mobile camp in Panchthar District was obstructed by FLSC-FDNF cadres on 4 May at Budhabare VDC of Dhankuta (an adjoining point of Panchtar, Dhankuta and Morang Districts). The cadres clashed with security personnel while obstructing VDC employees from entering the registration center. Reportedly, six sustained injuries in the clash and 25 cadres were arrested by police. Accusing the administration of mobilizing security forces disproportionately against their cadres, the FLSC-FDNF enforced a general strike in all nine districts east of the Arun river: Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, Morang, Sunsari, Dhankuta, Tehrathum and Sankhuwasabha from 4 to 7 May (though there were no reports that the bandh disrupted the mobile camps). On 31 May, reportedly an initially peaceful demonstration by FLSC- FDNF against the mobile camps at Tandi VDC, Morang District transformed into clashes between police and the protesters the next day. In order to control the situation, the police fired blank rounds and tear gas and deployed additional security forces. The events may have impacted on citizen turnout, which was reportedly lower than in the other camps in Morang District. While there were no clashes or obstructions reported in other districts, possible obstructions by CPN-Maoist and FLSC-FDNF are still perceived as the major challenge by the district election officers of Panchthar, Dhankuta, Ilam, Sankhuwasabha and Terhathum. According to local interlocutors, the presence of citizens in the camps was reportedly high in both hill and Tarai districts. The presence of women and elderly people was reportedly relatively high in Panchthar and Ilam Districts whereas the presence of young citizens to acquire citizenship was reported higher in Mahottari, Dhanusha, Siraha and Morang Districts. While the CPN-Maoist had obstructed voter registration in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Bajura, Baitadi, and Darchula Districts in the Far Western Region before 1 April, a District Election Officer shared that there were fewer cases of obstruction in the region than during March. Reportedly, more security personnel were deployed in mobile camps given the possibility of potential clashes. In addition, coordination meetings with political parties facilitated by the District Administration Office (DAO) and/or District Election Offices at the district and local levels are also believed to have decreased the level of threats. A CPN-Maoist central committee leader in Kanchanpur reported that the party had requested authorities to halt voter registration in most 3 For more details, please see: http://www.nepal24hours.com/en/?p=21344. P a g e | 2 Monthly Update, May 2013 – UN RCHC Office districts; however, he also stated that the party decided not to substantively obstruct the process as people were also receiving other important services from the mobile camps (such as social protection allowance, citizenship distribution, etc.). In the end, the CPN-Maoist was reported to have only carried out obstruction activities at a mobile camp in Gulariya, Kanchanpur, on 9 May. CPN-Maoist cadres reportedly broke two computers and seized some election documents. Police reportedly arrested four CPN-Maoist cadres following a clash at the site. The next day, CPN-Maoist imposed a Chakkajam in Kanchanpur protesting against voter registration and demanding the release of the arrested cadres. The most significant number of mobile camp disruptions during May occurred in the Western and Mid Western