NEPAL: ELECTION SITREP ONE

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000400 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: ELECTION SITREP ONE C O R R E C T E D C O P Y TO ADD SIPDIS CAPTION Summary -------------- ¶1. POLLING BEGAN AS SCHEDULED WITH NO MAJOR INCIDENTS OF FRAUD OR VIOLENCE DURING INITIAL STAGES. ALL U.S. MISSION OBSERVER PERSONNEL ARE SAFE AND ACCOUNTED FOR. A Surprisingly Smooth Start -------------- ¶2. U.S. MISSION OBSERVERS AND MEDIA REPORTED THAT POLLING FOR NEPAL'S CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS BEGAN AS SCHEDULED AT 0700 ON 10 APRIL. NO SIGNIFICANT INITIAL DELAYS WERE REPORTED DUE TO SHORTCOMINGS IN PERSONNEL OR LOGISTICS SUPPORT AT THE POLLING SITES. ¶3. WHILE INCIDENTS OF INTIMIDATION, BOOTH CAPTURING AND ISOLATED VIOLENCE HAVE BEEN REPORTED AROUND THE COUNTRY, THE SCALE SO FAR HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN MANY OF THE GRIM PRE-ELECTION FORECASTS AND INITIAL TURNOUT APPEARS TO BE ROBUST. ONE CONSTITUENCY, SURKHET-1, HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY SCHEDULED FOR RE-POLLING ON 19 APRIL DUE TO THE PRE- ELECTION MURDER OF A CANDIDATE. AS OF 1200 LOCAL TIME, RE-POLLING IS LIKELY TO BE REQUIRED IN APPROXIMATELY SIX OTHER CONSTITUENCIES WHERE VARIOUS CAUSES HAVE LED TO POLL BOOTH CLOSURE, PARTICULARLY IN THE SOUTH AND EAST. AT PRESENT THE TERAI DISTRICTS OF MAHOTTARI AND RAUTAHAT ARE REPORTING THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TENSIONS. MOST PROBLEMS ARE ATTRIBUTED TO YCL ACTION OR CLASHES BETWEEN PARTY CADRES,INCLUDING THE NEPALI CONGRESS, UML, MAOISTS AND IN ONE INSTANCE THE JTMM. GENERALLY, ARMED TERAI GROUPS HAVE BEEN LESS AGGRESSIVE THAN EXPECTED. DESPITE THESE ISSUES, INITIAL TURNOUT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN STRONG AND SEVERAL OBSERVERS WERE STRUCK BY THE EFFICIENCY OF POLLING OPERATIONS. ¶4. WHILE EARLY REPORTS ARE ENCOURAGING, SIGNIFICANT CAVEATS STILL APPLY. THE NATURE OF BOTH INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER DEPLOYMENTS AND MEDIA COVERAGE ARE FOCUSING REPORTING ON URBAN AREAS, NEGLECTING THE MANY ISOLATED CONSTITUENCIES WHERE THE MAOISTS ARE LIKELY TO ACT MOST AGGRESSIVELY. ADDITIONALLY, PRE-ELECTION REPORTING SUGGESTED THAT DEDICATED CADRE FROM SEVERAL PARTIES WOULD FOCUS ON MOBILIZING THEIR OWN VOTES DURING THE MORNING HOURS, SUBSEQUENTLY TURNING THEIR EFFORTS TOWARDS INTIMIDATION AND INTERFERENCE WITH OTHERS AS POLLING CONTINUES INTO THE AFTERNOON. ¶5. POST MEDIA MONITORING OPERATION HAS NOTED NO MEDIA VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT AS OF 1100 HOURS LOCAL TIME. TV AND RADIO REPORTS OF VOTING IRREGULARITIES (POLL DEFERRAL, BOOTH CAPTURE) HAVE BEEN QUICK AND CONSONANT WITH OUR OBSERVER REPORTS. TALKING HEADS ARE FILLING AIR TIME WITH ROUTINE ACCOUNTS OF LEADERSHIP RANKS CASTING VOTES AND VIDEO FOOTAGE OF ROUTINE, ORDERLY VOTING. THE MEDIA CENTER OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION ANNOUNCED THE CLOSURE OF SIX POLLING PLACES. ¶6. THIRTY THREE U.S. MISSION PERSONNEL HAVE DEPLOYED AROUND THE KATHMANDU VALLEY AND ACROSS NEPAL TO MONITOR ELECTIONS ACTIVITY DURING THE INITIAL STAGES. ALL U.S. MISSION OBSERVER PERSONNEL ARE SAFE AND ACCOUNTED FOR.