Dedicated to Daniel Pearl

Finally, the political parties in Nepal failed to conduct the Constituent Assembly (CA) poll on November 22 also. It’s ridiculous that they decided to postpone the poll but don’t say when and how it will be held. The parties on Friday morning decided to ask the government to write a letter to the Election Commission requesting the latter to suspend the election programs. This is the second time the parties are postponing the CA poll after they deferred it on June.

The Maoists are the most responsible for the current situation because the poll is postponed as the parties couldn’t reach consensus over the Maoists’ preconditions for the poll. Although the Maoists had already agreed and signed in a agreement and a mixed electoral system will be adopted for the CA poll and the issue of monarchy will be decided by the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly, the Maoists later changed their tune and set pre-conditions for the poll. After the Maoists’ extended meeting, which was held on September in Kathmandu, the Maoists introduced their pre-conditions for the poll. It’s much obvious that the Maoists received reports from their country-wide cadres that they will pitiably lose the CA poll. They then decided not to allow the CA poll happen on the scheduled date. The parties had no option but to postpone the poll. Worse, they didn’t fix a new for the poll–further complicating the political situation.

I think the political parties have no right to seize the people’s right to vote. People across the country want election and they want to choose their candidates but the parties for their individual interest are not holding the poll. Who takes responsibility for such situation. The people must resort to streets demanding poll and must boycott the parties who dont’ want poll.