Kathmandu, March 26

Lawmakers today took strong exception to the report submitted by the European Union Election Observation Mission.

Taking special time at the Parliament meeting, the lawmakers said the EUEOM report was an interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

CPN-UML Lawmaker Bhim Rawal said the report was an ‘attack’ on the constitution, which was promulgated in line with the aspirations of the people. “This type of interference is not tolerable,” he said, adding that Nepal strongly believed in democracy and that it wanted maintain good relations with foreign countries as per its foreign policy and the UN Charter.

Rawal said Nepal’s constitution was on par with that of any other country in terms of its guarantee of proportional inclusion.

CPN-Maoist Centre lawmaker Devendra Paudel said Nepal was a sovereign nation and no foreign meddling in its internal affairs would be tolerated. “The European Union Election Observation Mission report is humiliating,” he said.

Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal lawmaker Rajendra Shrestha said Nepal would not accept foreign inference in its internal affairs. Nepal’s constitution is more progressive than those of many other countries, he added.

Stating that Madhesi, Tharu, and Muslim and other marginalised communities were still facing discrimination, Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal lawmaker Laxman Lal Karna said any weakness in constitution regarding proportional inclusion should be corrected.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Pradip Giri said as Nepal had entered a new phase after the promulgation of the new constitution, all sorts of challenges in its implementation should be tackled together.

CPN-UML lawmaker Birodh Khatiwada said the Parliament should discuss issues related to Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s recent visit to Nepal.

Meanwhile, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Tamang tabled the ordinance that extended the tenure of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons by a year.