Kathmandu, April 18, 2008

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today urged cabinet ministers not to resign from their posts until the new cabinet is formed.

The Prime Minister’s appeal came today, a day after his Nepali Congress party decided not to quit the government immediately. “The onus lies with the incumbent government to lead the country in the current transition where the constituent assembly has not been formed and its meeting has not convened,” the PM said in a press statement today.

“Hence, I appeal to the ministers of the incumbent government not to resign from their posts and to the ministers who have resigned to take charge of their respective ministries until the next cabinet is formed,” Koirala added. Koirala said conducting the election and formulating a new democratic constitution through the CA were more important than the election results. Koirala has not accepted the resignations of the UML minister, Baluwatar sources said.

Most of the NC ministers in the government, including Home Minister KP Sitaula, have returned back to the capital to take charge of their respective ministries.

PFN leader and health minister Giri Raj Mani Pokharel has returned to the capital and would continue in the government, said party vice-chairman Lilamani Pokharel. Pokharel said his party would summon its CWC meeting in the next few days.

Supplies Minister Shyam Sundar Gupta, who represented the SP in the government, has returned to the ministry. Minister Gupta lost the election from Rupandehi-7.

Irregularities tarnished CA polls: NHRC

Kathmandu, April 18, 2008

The National Human Rights Commission today said the April 10 election to constituent assembly was largely peaceful despite several cases of riggiging, booth capturing and security lapses.

“Cancellation of elections in 106 polling centres in 12 districts prove that the security provisions were not sufficient for the election,” the NHRC said in its report released today.

“The NHRC has been receiving reports of booth capturing and terrorising of voters in the election,” the report stated.

The rights body also said that voters’ education was not sufficient in many districts resulting in thousands of ballot papers being invalid in Sankhuwasabha, Morang and Kavre districts. “The NHRC teams received complaints from detainees and inmates, security personnel, Maoists cantonments and army barracks that voters’ education was not given sufficiently,” the NHRC stated.

There were reports of ballot papers being used without the signature of polling officers and that people suffered because the polling booths were far, the NHRC report said.

Saying that it found many ballot papers without election symbols of some parties, the NHRC stated that the EC was not fully prepared for the election.