F OCHA Nepal - Fortnightly Situation Overview Issue No. 24, covering the period 1 -14 April 2008 Kathmandu, 15 April 2008 Highlights: • Nepal holds historic Constituent Assembly Election as scheduled on 10 April • Most observers laude largely orderly polling procedures and commend electoral administration • Preliminary results show a landslide win for the Maoists, while NC and CPN-UML suffer big losses • Violence marred campaign period and created an atmosphere of intimidation in many parts of the country • Armed Terai groups continue their agitations, enforcing shutdowns in some Terai areas, and causing explosions • Operational space restricted by elections but no direct infringements of movement for aid workers reported • Health posts, schools closed, total vehicle movement shutdown on polling day CONTEXT Leaders of the NC and CPN-UML, including General Secretary of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal and Acting President of the Constituent Assembly election and Politics NC Sushil Koirala, have announced their decisions to resign from their posts after the parties appeared to face huge losses in Some 17.6 million people were eligible to vote on 10 April for the preliminary tally, while the former rebel party CPN/M Nepal‘s first Constituent Assembly election, which is seen as seems to have won overwhelming support from the people. the cornerstone of the peace process. A total of 20,882 polling CPN/UML has also decided to pull out of the government. centres were set up in 9,821 polling locations. Some 240,000 staff were deployed for polling day. The total number of Constituent Assembly seats is 601, of which 335 are elected through a proportional representation system; 240 seats elected through a constituency-based first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system; and 26 seats are to be appointed by the Council of Ministers. 55 parties competed, with 3,947 candidates in the FPTP system and some 5,701 in the proportional system. 148 domestic observation organizations were accredited and some 56,000 domestic observers were active on election-day, beside more than 800 international observers of 28 international missions. In addition to the technical assistance provided to the Election Commission (EC) in all 75 districts, UNMIN and OHCHR mobile teams operated across 45 districts; UNMIN arms monitors were present at all 28 Maoist army cantonment sites and operated mobile patrols from the Election workers in Siraha district. Photo credit: OCHA five regional headquarters, visiting Nepal Army locations. The UN‘s Expert Election Monitoring Team which reports directly In a public address on 12 April, Pushpa Kamal Dahal to the Secretary General also monitored the election. (Chairman ”Prachanda‘) reassured the public, political parties and the international community of his party‘s commitment to Nepal‘s government had declared a five-day holiday from 7 to democratic values and added that the Maoists would continue 11 April to ensure broader participation and for security to work with other political parties and adhere to the coalition reasons. The sale and consumption of alcohol was also culture during the transition period. He was also quoted as prohibited. saying that the Maoists would work together with civil servants, different non-government organizations, civil society, security The Election Commission said there was a turnout of more units and the international community to help achieve the goals than 60 per cent. Members of the Maoist army and the Nepal of rapid economic growth, sustainable peace and Army voted at specially assigned polling centers close to their institutionalization of a federal democratic setup for building a designated locations. new Nepal. The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN/M) are reported Tension and violence negatively affected the environment to have won 114 seats of the FPTP constituencies where vote counting was completed by midnight of 14 April. The Nepali Violent incidents and aggressive behavior were common and Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist widespread in the reporting period, particularly in the run-up Leninist (CPN/UML) have won 33 and 28 seats respectively. to the elections. However, the election was conducted largely The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MPRF) has won 20 seats in peacefully regardless, with polling suspended in only one of the the Terai, while the Terai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) 240 constituencies prior to 10 April due to the killing of a has won 6. Other seats were won by the Nepal Workers and candidate on 8 April. Peasants Party (NWPP) and the Sadbhavana Party (SP), two each, the United People‘s Front (UPF), one seat, as well as an After having been summoned by the EC regarding violations of independent candidate. In the majority of remaining the code of conduct by political parties, the top three leaders of constituencies as well as in the proportional count, Maoists are the ruling alliance, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala of NC, reported to be in the lead. the head of CPN/UML Madhav Kumar Nepal and the leader of OCHA Nepal Situation Overview, Issue No. 24 / 15 April 2008 1 the Maoists Pushpa Kamal Dahal signed a 10-point under- capturing‘, the burning of ballot boxes and the beating of poll standing on 1 April, expressing commitment to hold the workers was reported from a number of locations. Due to such elections in a free and fair environment. incidents, voting had to be suspended in at least 33 booths, most of them in the Terai. Despite that and other agreements amongst major political parties not to interfere in the poll campaigns of other parties, An NC supporter was shot in a Terai village on 11 April. the number of incidents of killings, clashes, abductions, obstructions, threats and incidents increased in the week Election observer organisations generally pointed to the largely before the election. In the last three days before the vote, peaceful and orderly polling on Election Day, and commended despite the end of campaigning and the silent period, clashes the election administration, but deplored the considerable and violent incidents were reported from at least 50 districts. violence during the campaign period leading to an atmosphere Around 16 killings leading up to polling during the reporting of fear and intimidation, and regretted that Code of Conduct period, the majority of the victims were Maoists. Continued violations were not sanctioned more rigorously. death threats to candidates, abductions and physical assaults adversely affected the election campaigning and the Re-polling and next stages of election process atmosphere in which polling took place. Maoists, in particular, through their youth wing Young Communist League (YCL) The EC has announced that in 106 polling stations (out of were most frequently accused of beating up and kidnapping 20,879) in 21 constituencies of 12 districts elections had to be members of other political parties. postponed or cancelled: Constituencies in Sarlahi, Mahottari; Chitwan, Siraha, Nuwakot, Arghakhanchhi, Saptari, Dailekh, On 5 April, a Rastriya Janashakti Party cadre was abducted and Dhading, Baglung, Rautahat and Nawalparasi are affected. murdered in Dhankuta district. Also on 5 April an NC Dates for re-polling in seven districts have been announced by candidate and party workers were attacked while campaigning the EC. Until re-polling is completed counting has been put on in Kapilvastu, reportedly by YCL activists. UML candidates hold in the respective districts. were reportedly kidnapped and held for some hours in Udayapur on 4 April, and in Mugu on 5 April. On 8 April, CPN- It is expected that it may take up to three weeks for the election UML and NC supporters clashed in Surkhet district, and a local results to be finalized. Due to the complex mixed electoral CPN-UML candidate was fatally shot. A curfew was imposed in system, the number of seats a party has won will be known only the area following the incident. In retaliation to the CPN-UML after all the votes in the proportional election system from all candidate's death, the morning after, one NC cadre was shot the constituencies are counted. While the time required for dead and another wounded and several houses were burnt counting the ballots of both electoral systems and announcing down. The elections for constituency no. 1 of Surkhet were the winners according to the legal process for the proportional subsequently postponed until 19 April. race may be longer than in the past, the EC has urged all citizens of Nepal to take this reality into consideration and to be Nine Maoist cadres were reportedly killed in police firing after patient. a clash erupted between Maoists and NC workers in Dang district on 8 April. YCL cadres had reportedly held and beaten The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly will be held up 33 NC workers before police intervened. The Office of the within 21 days of the announcement of final results. The tenure High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) deplored the of the assembly is for two years and extendable for up to six violent deaths and urged all parties to show restraint and avoid months. provocation. OHCHR has also initiated investigations into these events and has urged the government to establish an Safety and Security independent inquiry to investigate the police firing that resulted in the deaths, as well as into the killing of the CPN- About 43,000 regular police, 56,000 temporary security UML candidate in Surkhet on 8 April. officers and 25,000 armed police were deployed across the country and were ensuring law and order during the election On 6 April, the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) in and in the light of threats by different armed groups in some conjunction with OHCHR released the third of a series of Terai districts. The government also arranged for around-the- periodic reports analyzing the conditions in the country prior clock police hourly escorting of vehicles for the section of the to the polls.