FEW CANDIDATES FILE FOR ELECTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000270

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV NP
SUBJECT: FEW CANDIDATES FILE FOR ELECTIONS

REF: A. KATHMANDU 228


B. KATHMANDU 254

C. KATHMANDU 80

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) On January 26, the deadline to file for candidacy in
the February 8 municipal elections, the government announced
that 3,255 people had filed to run for 4,416 open seats.
However, as there were multiple candidates for some posts,
more than one-third of the seats had no registered candidate,
and another one-third had only one candidate. Acknowledging
the low candidate turnout, the Election Commission, in an
unprecedented move, announced it would set other dates to
file in municipal wards which had no candidate. To encourage
more candidates to file, the government also publicized that
government insurance for election workers would cover
candidates. Seven-Party alliance politicians and civil
society activists criticized the quality of the candidates
who had filed to run, noting that most had never before been
involved in politics and were opportunists and the
unemployed. End Summary.

No Candidate For One Out Of Three Seats
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2. (U) On January 26, the deadline to file for candidacy in
the 58 municipalities, the government announced that 3,255
people had filed to run in the February 8 municipal election.
Although 236 candidates filed for mayor and 192 candidates
for deputy-mayor, some localities had no candidates. As
there were multiple candidates for some posts, over one-third
of the seats had no registered candidate, and another
one-third had only one candidate. The Kathmandu Post
reported that not a single municipality had candidates for
all seats. In Kathmandu, no candidates filed at all in three
of the thirty-five wards (each ward has about five
representatives) and a total of 169 candidates filed for 177
seats, including ten for mayor, and eight for deputy mayor.
Participation was mixed in two other areas of the Kathmandu
Valley: in Bhaktapur, the mayor and deputy mayor will be
elected unanimously, as only one candidate for each post
filed; but in Lalitpur, 26 candidates filed papers for 17
seats. No one representing a national party recognized by
the Election Commission filed for candidacy in the Kathmandu
Valley. In the central hilly city of Baglung, only 12
candidates filed to contest 57 seats. In the far west terai
city of Mahendranagar, fewer than 40 candidates filed to
contest 97 seats.

Election Commission Relaxed Rules
--------------


3. (U) In acknowledgment of the low candidate turnout,
Election Commissioner Keshav Raj Rajbhandari announced on the
evening of January 26 on Nepal Television that the Election
Commission would announce additional dates for filing
candidacy in municipal wards in which no one had yet filed.
This municipal election was the first time in Nepal's history
that election rules were thus relaxed. The Election
Commission had also relaxed other rules, such as not
requiring someone to "second" a candidate, and not requiring
a photo of the candidate to register with the Election
Commission.

Government Attempts to Address Maoist Threat
--------------


4. (U) To encourage more candidates to file, the government
publicized that government insurance for election workers
also covered candidates. The Assistant Minister for Home
Affairs traveled to Janakpur, in eastern Nepal, on January 26
to hand over a check from the government for 150,000 NR
(2,100 USD) to the widow of mayoral candidate Ramalal Das,
whom the Maoists had killed on January 22 (ref A). There was
no news of a candidate from Bardiya who had been abducted by
Maoists (ref B). Meanwhile, an NGO called the Partnership
for Protection of Children in Armed Conflict submitted a
memorandum to the Election Commission asking that voting
booths not be set up in schools as that could put children at
risk from Maoist violence.

Rana-led RPP and Praja Parishad Party Boycott Polls
-------------- --------------


5. (U) On January 25, a day after the election commission
froze the Rastriya Prajantantra Party (RPP) symbol of the
plow (ref C),the Pashupati Shamsher Rana-led faction of the
Party formally announced its boycott of the municipal
elections. This reversed the Party's earlier decision, which
had empowered district committees to decide for themselves
whether or not to take part in the polls. Meanwhile, the
Kamal Thapa-led faction of the Party was forced to field
candidates under the symbol of a flower vase. Thapa claimed
that his Party had fielded candidates in sixty-five percent
of wards nationwide. Nepal's oldest political party, Nepal
Praja Parisad, also announced on January 25 that it would
boycott the elections.

Parties Question Quality of Candidates, Call Elections "Joke"
--------------


6. (C) The January 27 newspapers highlighted colorful
candidates, most of whom had never stood for election before.
Filing for candidacy as Kathmandu Ward 4 chairperson was a
school janitor, who said the headmaster at her school had
"requested" she run. Chandra Prakash Mainali, Leader of the
United Left Front and General Secretary of the Communist
Party of Nepal (Marxist Leninist),told Emboff that in
addition to the major political parties, even smaller parties
were boycotting the municipal election. He asserted that
many of those who filed their candidacy were "opportunists,
unemployed, and knew nothing about politics." K.P. Oli,
Central Committee Member of the UML, opined that only
royalists had filed their candidacy and termed the election a
"mockery." Dilip Bhattarai, a worker at the American Corner
in Bhairahawa, told Emboff that "even reputed pro monarchists
did not dare to file nominations for municipal polls." He
added that "ninety-five percent of the candidates have
neither political backgrounds nor sound social status." Of
the four persons running for Bhairahawa mayor, one had an
arrest warrant in India because of his alleged involvement
with Pakistani ISI, and was known as a smuggler and dealer of
counterfeit currency; another candidate was a call girl; yet
another candidate was a police and army ration contractor
representing Nepal Sadvabana Party (Badri Mandal group); and
the last was new to district politics. Bhattarai noted that
the government had ordered the local army and police
authorities to search candidates as they filed nominations.

Human Rights NGOs Skeptical of Elections
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7. (C) Calling it a "big joke," Subodh Pyakurel, President of
local NGO INSEC, said that many of those who filed their
candidacy had been compelled to do so. He questioned the
government's decision to provide insurance to the candidates
if they were killed or injured, but not to voters as well, as
voter's lives were also at risk. He estimated that only one
fourth of the seats had candidates. He noted that the person
who filed for Mayor in Kalaiya Municipality, Bara District,
had publicly announced that he filed to earn money to pay
back a loan of ten million rupees (139,500 USD). Charan
Prasai, President of local NGO Human Rights Organization of
Nepal (HURON),told Emboff that the seven-party alliance, in
addition to the ongoing fear of Maoist retributions, had
discouraged people from filing candidacy for the municipal
election. He questioned the legitimacy and validity of the
election in the absence of major political parties. Prasai
who was visiting Birgunj, Parsa District, stated that he did
not see any glow or enthusiasm on the faces of those people
who registered their names for the election.

Comment
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8. (C) The Parties' successful nation-wide strike, and fear
of Maoist violence appear to have kept people from filing to
run in municipal elections. With no candidates for one-third
of the seats, and no major political parties participating,
it is hard to see how these elections will represent the will
of the people.
MORIARTY