US embassy cable - 02KATHMANDU1435

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001435 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, ASEC, CASC, PINR, NP, Government of Nepal (GON) 
SUBJECT: PM DEUBA SAYS LOCAL POLLS TO FOLLOW NATIONAL 
ELECTIONS 
 
REF: KATHMANDU 1387 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Malinowski, Reasons 1.5(b),(d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Nepal's Prime Minister Deuba briefed donors 
July 23 on preparations for upcoming elections and efforts to 
manage local-level government bodies in the absence of 
elected representatives.  Deuba said rolling local elections 
into the national elections slated for November was 
impractical, but the new Parliament would schedule local 
elections as soon as it was seated early next year.  Nepal 
welcomed international election monitors and human rights 
groups as well as foreign assistance in both fields, the PM 
said.  A mission from Brussels recently visited Kathmandu to 
prepare a report for the EU on Nepal's elections; the mission 
found that EU involvement would be useful, but held off from 
making a definitive judgement for want of detailed 
information about election arrangements.  End Summary. 
 
Deuba Answers Donor Concerns on Elections, Local Bodies 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
2. (SBU) Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Dueba, addressing a July 
23 briefing for donors on Nepal's new budget, commented on 
preparations for upcoming national elections and his decision 
to allow the terms of locally elected officials to lapse. 
Querying Deuba, some donors expressed concerns about the 
dissolution of local bodies, stressing the need to work with 
local governments to implement development programs. 
 
Deuba: No Mandate to Extend Local Bodies 
---------------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) Donors urged Deuba to hold local elections as quickly 
as possible so that these bodies could be reconstituted. 
Deuba responded that after consulting with legal experts he 
concluded that the head of an interim government did not have 
a mandate to extend the tenure of local officials.  Moreover, 
he had concerns that local bodies could misuse development 
funds for election purposes.  In 1995, Deuba stressed, the 
local bodies--mostly controlled by the Communist Party of 
Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML)-- did exactly that. 
Dueba later noted that the CPN-UML was the only party pushing 
for reconstituting and extending the terms of local bodies. 
 
Working with Opposition to Create Local Administration 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
4. (C) At present, Deuba's caretaker government is holding 
talks with other political parties, especially the CPN-UML, 
on how to deliver services in the absence of local officials. 
 The talks have focussed on ways to create mechanisms to 
prevent partisan politics from taking over local bodies. 
Dueba hopes these plans could be endorsed within the week, 
and result in the transparent political structure he says is 
needed to run local governments. 
 
Combining Local and National Elections Not Practical 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
5. (SBU) Holding local elections concurrently with the 
upcoming national elections would not be practical, Deuba 
explained.  Nepal has 4000 villages and municipalities, each 
divided into nine wards.  Concurrent elections would be 
complicated and "confusing," and demand much higher security 
arrangements.  (Note:  Deuba's comments on combining the 
elections track with the assessment of civil servants in the 
Local Development Ministry, who briefed us July 17 on the 
complications of holding concurrent elections (Reftel).  End 
Note.) 
 
New Parliament to Set Local Elections 
------------------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) Based on national elections slated for November, the 
new Parliament will convene in January or February 2003.  At 
that time the Parliament will set a date for local elections, 
which under the constitution must be held within a year of 
the date on which the former local body terms lapsed.  The 
new Parliament will also have to endorse the new budget 
ordinance, Deuba added. 
 
PM Welcomes Election Monitors 
----------------------------- 
7. (SBU) Deuba acknowledged the need for international 
monitors to observe Nepal's upcoming elections, and indicated 
that their presence would be welcome. 
 
EU Election Mission Undecided on Aid 
------------------------------------ 
 
8. (C) An EU mission visited Kathmandu recently to prepare a 
report on the possibility of EU funding for Nepal's upcoming 
elections.  (Note:  Poloff and USAIDOff met with the mission 
on July 19.  End Note.)  British Emboff (Protect) briefed 
Poloff on the mission's as-yet-unreleased findings.  The 
mission held back from reaching a definitive judgement on 
whether to support the elections due to what it labeled a 
lack of information, and specifically a paucity of specific 
details about polling arrangements and the effect that 
phasing the elections would have on security plans.  The 
mission did conclude however, that EU support would be useful 
and would help curtail fraud. 
 
9. (C) In its findings the mission described concerns with 
the party registration process at the National Election 
Commission (NEC) and with the NEC's complaints process.  An 
ordinance requiring voters to show government-issued 
identification cards was also problematic, as reportedly few 
Nepalis in rural areas have them.  Restrictions on freedom of 
movement and difficulty of access to media could also affect 
the viability of the election, the mission concluded. 
 
10. (C) The EU supported the use of local election monitors 
but would not fund them because they would inevitably be 
"highly politicized.  The mission also expressed concerns 
about the security of EU staff in Nepal.  Obstacles to EU 
support of Nepal's elections included the lack of a 
implementation partner (the EU was disinclined to fund UNDP 
efforts) as well as the fact that so far the EU has not been 
formally invited to help with the elections. 
 
PM: Human Rights Abuses Will Be Investigated 
---------------------------------------- 
 
11. (C) Asked at the July 23 donor briefing about progress on 
human rights, PM Deuba replied that the Maoists were engaged 
in acts of "terrorism against democracy."  He pledged that 
all reports of human rights abuses would be investigated and 
action would be taken to correct any mistakes made by 
government forces.  Nepal welcomed training and assistance in 
the area of human rights, and Deuba specifically mentioned 
recent U.S. and U.K. aid in that field, including to the 
Royal Nepalese Army (RNA).  Nepal had its own National Human 
Rights Commission, which was free to travel around and 
conduct investigations.  International human rights groups 
were also welcome to come to Nepal to investigate, Deuba 
stated.  He added that an agreement between the GON and ICRC 
would be concluded soon. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
12. (C) Deuba's July 23 comments attempted to put to rest 
growing donor displeasure over the decision to allow the 
terms of locally elected officials to expire.  Although the 
lack of incumbents in local offices will indeed greatly 
complicate many development projects, both existing and 
proposed, Deuba appeared serious about developing alternative 
mechanisms to fill the vacuum.  His comments on election 
assistance and human rights were also welcome.  As the EU 
election mission found, however, Nepal needs to continue to 
work hard to lay the groundwork for future foreign aid. 
MALINOWSKI