NEPAL: ELECTION SITREP FOUR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000404 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: ELECTION SITREP FOUR REF A: KATHMANDU 400; REF B: KATHMANDU 401; REF C: KATHMANDU 402 Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) SINCE OUR LAST SITREP (REF C),BALLOT COUNTING BEGAN THIS MORNING ACROSS NEPAL. FOUR ADDITIONAL REPORTS OF SIGNIFICANT VIOLENCE HAVE OCCURRED. ALL U.S. MISSION OBSERVER PERSONNEL ARE SAFE AND ACCOUNTED FOR. BALLOT COUNTING BEGINS -------------- ¶2. (U) BALLOT COUNTING BEGAN THIS MORNING IN 17 DISTRICTS (41 CONSTITUENCIES). U.S. MISSION OBSERVERS IN THE LALITPUR COUNTING CENTER IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY, REPORTED THAT THE COUNT WAS ORDERLY AND PROCEDURES WERE FOLLOWED. REPORTS FROM OBSERVERS OUTSIDE KATHMANDU REPORT MOSTLY PEACEFUL COUNTING. ¶3. (U) AS OF 1230 NEPAL TIME, BROADCAST AND ONLINE MEDIA REPORTED THE ELECTION COMMISSION'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF A SINGLE CONTEST DECIDED (KATHMANDU-1). THIS CONSITUENCY IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE COUNTRY USING ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES. A CELEBRATORY PARADE FOR THE VICTOR, PRAKASH MAN SINGH, NEPALI CONGRESS VICE PRESIDENT, WAS FEATURED IN LIVE TELEVISION COVERAGE. MR. MAN SINGH DEFEATED UML AND MAOIST CANDIDATES BY MARGINS OF MORE THAN 2:1 AND 4:1 RESPECTIVELY. OTHER ONGOING VOTE COUNTS ARE COVERED IN LIMITED DETAIL ON TELEVISION AND WEBSITES, WITH CONFLICTING TOTALS AND NO INDICATION OF THE STATUS OF THE COUNT FROM ANY MEDIA. AFTER THE BURST OF NEWS ON THE SINGLE DECLARED VICTOR, THERE HAS BEEN NO SOLID NEWS IN ANY OF THE OBSERVED MEDIA. THE ELECTION COMMISSION IS EXPECTED TO GIVE ITS FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE DAY AFTER 1500. INITIAL DOMESTIC OBSERVER REPORTS -------------- ¶4. (U) THE DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS ALLIANCE NEPAL (DEAN) WITH 9393 OBSERVERS DEPLOYED IN ALL 75 DISTRICTS OF NEPAL REPORTED A 60 PERCENT VOTER TURN OUT RATE, WITH THE HIGHEST IN RUKUM WITH 90 PERCENT, AND THE LOWEST IN BAITADI WITH 43 PERCENT. OF THE REPORTS RECEIVED, DEAN OBSERVERS REPORT THAT 36 DISTRICTS WERE FREE OF INCIDENTS, 13 EXPERIENCED MINOR INCIDENTS THAT CAN BE CLASSED AS NORMAL, AND 22 EXPERIENCED SERIOUS INCIDENTS. POLLING WAS CANCELLED IN AT LEAST 33 POLLING CENTERS DUE TO IRREGULARITIES INCLUDING KILLINGS, THE CAPTURING OF POLL CENTERS BY POLITICAL PARTIES, EXPLOSIONS, GUN SHOTS AND DESTRUCTION OF BALLOT BOXES AND OTHER POLLING MATERIAL. ADDITIONAL REPORTS OF VIOLENCE AND BALLOT COUNTING OBSTRUCTION -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) FOUR ADDITIONAL REPORTS OF SERIOUS VIOLENCE CAME IN SINCE REF C. NEPALI CONGRESS CANDIDATE, MAHENDRA PATHAK WAS SHOT IN PIPARA, KAPILVASTU DISTRICT. HE IS UNDERGOING TREATMENT IN LUMBINI HOSPITAL. IN SALYAN, A REPORT CAME IN EARLY THIS MORNING THAT TWO UML CANDIDATES ARE MISSING AFTER BEATINGS AND UML CADRES ARE OBSTRUCTING MOVEMENT OF BALLOT BOXES. IN FOUR VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES OF CONSTITUENCY-1 IN DHADING DISTRICT BALLOT BOXES WERE SET ON FIRE. MAOISTS AND NEPALI CONGRESS CADRES BLAMED EACH OTHER. KASKI DISTRICT REPORTED THIS MORNING THAT LAST NIGHT AN UNIDENTIFIED GROUP KILLED UML CADRE, RISHI PRASAD SUBEDI, WITH A SHARP WEAPON. HIS BODY WAS FOUND THIS MORNING IN KATHMANDU 00000404 002 OF 002 SAIMARANG VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IN KASKI. ¶6. (U) THE THIRTY-THREE U.S. MISSION PERSONNEL THAT HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED AROUND THE KATHMANDU VALLEY AND ACROSS NEPAL TO MONITOR ELECTIONS ACTIVITY ARE ALL SAFE AND ACCOUNTED FOR. POWELL