PM DEUBA SAYS LOCAL POLLS TO FOLLOW NATIONAL

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 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
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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