Kathmandu, April 4:

Members of the nine-member civil society assigned by three major political parties — the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist — to play a watchdog’s role said today the incidents of election-related confrontations, intimidations and threats have declined after the signing of the 10-point agreements on Tuesday.

“Security situation seems to have improved for the last three days, as nobody has been airlifted by helicopter for medical treatment due to clashes between and among the parties,” Shyam Shrestha, one of the members of the team, said after holding talks with chief secretary Dr Bhojraj Ghimire at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction.

Secretary of the Ministry Madhav Prasad Ghimire, home secretary Umesh Mainali, IG of the Nepal Police Om Bikram Rana, IG of the Armed Police Force Basudev Oli and chief of the National Investigation Department Dhansingh Karki also attended the meeting to discuss on the ways to beef up security situation during the election.

The chiefs of the security wings are learned to have apprised the civil-society members that voters’ turnout could be low in some Tarai districts due to threats from the armed groups while there was high possibility of one party’s cadres preventing another party’s cadres from reaching the pooling stations in some hill districts.

“The parties should inform the returning officers, security personnel and election observers if such incidents occur,” said a member of the team.

Another member of the team Charan Prasain said the polls would be held in a peaceful, free and fair manner if the three major parties maintained the present situation till the poll day.

Shrestha quoted the security chiefs as telling them that they had made special security arrangement for the candidates of all the parties. The civil-society members had asked the chief secretary and the security chiefs not to spare the parties’ cadres if they are found to have been flouting the election code of conduct and indulging in confrontations, threats and intimidations.