Kathmandu, February 10:

An informal meeting of central working committee of the Nepali Congress (NC) today reviewed the campaign launched by the seven agitating parties against the February 8 municipal elections, that ended with a low voter turnout and the Maoist leader Prachanda’s latest interview seeking a peaceful way out of the crisis.

NC president Girija Prasad Koirala solicited reactions of the CWC members on Prachanda’s interview that has sought peaceful resolution to the crisis under international mediation. “The interview is flexible and justifiable,” said the source.

NC sources said that Prachanda’s interview was flexible, based on reality and practical and it had also sought international mediation to resolve the crisis — a long-held view of the party.

NC CWC member Arjun Narsingh KC said the meeting came to the conclusion that the interview was in “line with the 12-point understanding” reached between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists on November 22.

The interview was, on the whole, in favour of finding peaceful way out of the 10-year-old insurgency, he said.

The informal meeting, according to KC, also discussed international reactions over the civic polls which were termed by many democratic countries as meaningless and hollow atteepts to legimitise the King’s power. India, the USA, Japan and the UK, in their separate press statements issued after the polls, questioned the credibility of the municipal elections.

KC said the meeting noted that the peaceful boycott of the municipal elections was successful despite the government’s high handedness, mass arrests and firing at peaceful demonstrations in various parts of the country, including the ones in Dang, Biratnagar and Chitwan.

He said the meeting did not take any formal decisions, but condemned the government for arresting and shooting at people taking part in peaceful demonstrations.

“The meeting took it with a satisfactory note that the urban population boldly stood against autocracy by not casting their vote in the so-called civic polls,” KC told this daily at the end of the meeting, held at party president Koirala’s residence in Maharajgunj where about a dozen CWC members were present.

He said the central people’s movement coordination committee of the alliance would soon hold its meeting and decide the date for a meeting of the alliance’s top leaders.