Kathmandu, January 1

Leaders of left alliance — the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist Centre — today met office bearers of the Election Commission and demanded that results of the parliamentary proportional representation election be announced immediately.

A delegation of left alliance leaders headed by UML’s Subas Chandra Nembang drew attention of Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhi Prasad Yadav and other commissioners to the need to announce the results immediately.

“We told EC officials that the poll panel did not have power to postpone announcement of poll results indefinitely,” said UML leader Agni Kharel.

He said the announcement of poll results was not withheld in any political system. He said the poll panel should not hold the people’s verdict hostage on the pretext of technical reasons.

According to Kharel, leaders of the delegation asked CEC Yadav to ask political parties to give lists of PR candidates ensuring 33 per cent women’s representation in the Parliament. They said the constitution had ensured over 37 per cent women’s representation in the National Assembly. “We also reminded EC officials that no party will send more women than was needed to the Parliament just to  compensate the shortfall caused by another party. Nor can the EC force any party to do so,” Kharel said, “Shortcomings of the  constitution cannot be fixed by holding up poll results indefinitely.”

CPN-MC leader Ram Narayan Bidari said that EC officials agreed with their argument and told them that they would hold an internal meeting and take appropriate decision regarding announcement of parliamentary PR results. “We asked them to publish the parliamentary PR results immediately,” said Bidari. He said the EC might have been taking time to announce the results due to differences among EC commissioners.

According to Bidari, EC officials asked them to forge political consensus on the parliamentary PR results issue and hold NA election at the earliest.

CEC Yadav had said result of the parliamentary proportional representation election would be announced only after the completion of the NA election. It said that results of parliamentary PR election could not be announced as it was linked with the NA election.

UML leaders Bhim Rawal, Rajendra Pandey and Krishna Gopal Shrestha and CPN-MC leaders Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Barshaman Pun were among the left alliance leaders who had gone to the EC demanding immediate announcement of parliamentary PR results.

Four sister wings of UML and CPN-MC also submitted memorandum to CEC Yadav demanding immediate announcement of parliamentary PR results earlier today. Youth Association Nepal, All Nepal Free Student Union aligned with CPN-UML and Young Communist League and All Nepal Free Student Union (Revolutionary) of CPN-MC threatened protests if parliamentary PR poll  results were not announced immediately. They said the poll panel should not be used to fulfil some parties’ vested interest.

In response, the CEC said the EC had already completed seat allocation of parliamentary PR election and kept it confidential, as the EC could not submit parliamentary PR results to the president without meeting constitutional obligations.

Stating that the result of the parliamentary PR election was associated with NA election as per Section (8) of Article 84 of the constitution and Election of Member of House of Representatives Act, Yadav said the poll panel would follow the constitution and law.