EU observation mission terms Nepal's elections as milestone in implementing constitution

KATHMANDU, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The European Union Election Observation Mission said on Saturday that the elections to the House of Representatives and the provincial assemblies in Nepal represent a key milestone in the implementation of the country's 2015 Constitution.

EU Chief Observer Zeljana Zovko said in a statement that "despite the violence designed to frustrate the electoral process, the two election days showed that voters were not deterred. Instead, millions of people throughout the country went to cast their ballots for peace, stability and a prosperous Nepal."

Nepal held the two crucial elections simultaneously in two phases on Nov. 26 and Dec. 7, which are seen as a crucial step to implement the milestone new constitution promulgated in September 2015.

The European Union was invited to deploy an election observation mission by the government of Nepal for these elections.

During two phase of elections, over 100 EU observers observed the opening, voting and closing processes at 633 polling centres in 61 districts within all seven provinces.

The mission, however, commented that there was a notable lack of transparency in the work of the Election Commission, which affected the electoral process, particularly in regard to the reconciliation of ballots, which is detrimental to transparency.

The mission also noted that, although serious efforts were made, voter education was still insufficient.

Nepal held parliamentary and provincial assembly elections after the Himalayan nation became a federal democratic republic in 2008 following the abolition of its 240-year monarchy.

The mission's preliminary statement comes at a time when the vote counting is underway while the results are expected to be out within a week.

The mission informed that it would remain in Nepal until the completion of the process and publish a final report afterwards, including recommendations for future elections. Enditem