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UN:
NEPAL ON SCHEDULE TO HOLD POLLS NEXT MONTH, FOREIGN MINISTER TELLS UN:
01/10/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 01 October 2007 -
The Nepalese Government is determined to hold
elections for a Constituent Assembly on time next month, its Foreign Minister
told the General Assembly today, voicing hope that a “new Nepal” would soon
emerge from the Himalayan country’s ongoing peace process.
Addressing
the annual high-level debate at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Sahana
Pradhan said the Government was engaged in dialogue with the Communist Party of
Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) to ensure that the polls are held as scheduled on 22
November.
Mrs.
Pradhan said the country’s independent Election Commission was making the
necessary preparations to conduct the balloting and she invited other countries
and organizations to send observers to monitor the polls.
“We
are committed to bring the peace process to a successful conclusion,” she
said, acknowledging that it has faced serious challenges in recent months. The
polls were originally slated to take place in mid-June but had to be postponed
due to technical problems and the onset of the monsoon season.
Mrs.
Pradhan noted that the Government has concluded agreements with the leaders of
the Madhesi and Janajati movement recently that will allow those communities
“a stronger voice in the political dispensation and a more inclusive
representation in the Constituent Assembly.”
An
estimated 13,000 people were killed during the decade-long civil conflict that
came to a formal end when the Government and the Maoists signed a peace accord
late last year, and the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is now in place to help
shepherd the country through the transition process.
The
Foreign Minister said the Nepalese had voiced their desire “for an inclusive,
democratic and participatory restructuring of the State” that is also
peaceful.
“I
have every confidence that the peace process will reap numerous dividends to the
Nepalese people to create a ‘new Nepal.’ We expect generous assistance from
our development partners in this process, including in Nepal’s reconstruction
and development needs.”
She
added that the Government was also determined to end the climate of impunity
that pervaded during Nepal’s armed conflict, and it is carrying out plans to
set up a truth and reconciliation agreement as mandated under the peace accord.
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