Valley
PM hints at poll deferral ‘if it helps end deadlock’
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday sought to know from top leaders of major parties whether polls in Provinces 2 and 5 should be postponed “if that paves the way for the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) to join the elections”.Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday sought to know from top leaders of major parties whether polls in Provinces 2 and 5 should be postponed “if that paves the way for the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) to join the elections”.
PM Deuba had called a meeting of the top leaders of three major parties—the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre)—just as the RJP-N took to the streets, burning tyres, shutting down marketplaces and obstructing vehicular movements in Tarai districts.
The RJP-N’s announcement on Sunday to launch protests, saying the government failed to address its demands, has put the government in a fix. If the government tries to push the elections even if the RJP-N refuses to participate, there are fears of violent activities in Tarai districts.
Sporadic incidents of scuffle were reported from some districts along the plains over the past few days.
It was just an idea the prime minister had floated during the meeting, according to a source, who said he did not make any formal proposal about postponing the elections.
The second phase of local elections is just two weeks away and with the RJP-N in protests, the NC-Maoist Centre alliance is scrambling to find a way to convince the agitating party to join the elections.
PM Deuba talked about the possibility of delaying polls in Provinces 2 and 5 for a few days if the RJP-N agrees to join the process, said UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. “But we rejected the idea.”
“The ruling alliance is not sure whether it wants to defer polls or it indeed wants to hold them. Elections have been postponed earlier also. We have to stick to June 28 date,” Oli told reporters after the three-party meeting at Speaker Onasari Gharti’s office in Singha Durbar.
According to a leader present in the meeting, the leaders discussed the issue from various angles. A decision on poll deferral will be taken only if the RJP-N commits itself to polls, according to the leader.
“If the RJP-N agrees to make a commitment in writing that it will join the polls, we will try to work out ways to accommodate their demands and consider poll deferral,” said Maoist Centre leader Barsha Man Pun after the meeting. A Congress leader said PM Deuba will hold a meeting with RJP-N leaders on Wednesday in a bid to strike some kind of deal that could create a win-win situation for all.
Earlier on Tuesday, PM Deuba held a meeting with NC leaders representing the Madhes region and some district presidents.
Leaders from the Madhes region, according to sources, briefed PM Deuba on the situation in Tarai districts and apprised him of security challenges there. In the party meeting also PM Deuba is learnt to have hinted at deferring polls “if the RJP-N agrees to participate”.
No turning back: CEC
KATHMANDU: Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhyee Prasad Yadav said on Tuesday that the second phase of local level elections would take place on the scheduled date of June 28 and urged all, including the political parties, not to make statements against the scheduled polls. Speaking at an interaction at the Reporters’ Club on Tuesday, CEC Yadav said, “There is no turning back on June 28 polls. Elections will take place in all four provinces in one go on the announced date.” CEC Yadav’s assertion comes amid calls from the agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal to delay elections by a few days as well speculations that polls could be postponed in Provinces 2 and 5, if not in all four provinces, to bring the RJP-N on board the poll process. (PR)