The absence of the elected local bodies has made it difficult for several important European donors to continue aid for local development. Indeed, on the grounds of the lack of local partners, some have suspended aid, while some others have cut it. Dr Jurgen Wilhelm, a high-ranking visiting official of DED, a German aid agency, has warned of a further slash in German aid if the local polls are not held in time. DED, which gave Nepal aid of some $5 million over two years, has already reduced aid. Its country director for Nepal, Karl Siekmann, has said that DED’s concerns — defunct local bodies and the lack of local development partners — have been made worse by the deteriorating environment.

These views particularly reflect the concerns of those donor countries which have stressed the democratic process, representative local and national bodies and human rights since the royal steps of October 4, 2002 and February 1 this year. Perhaps, to win over the donors again, the government has been stressing polls. However, the King, in his Vijaya Dashami message — soon after the announcement of a date for the civic polls — promised the parliamentary elections by mid-April 2007, without explaining, strangely enough, what would happen to the VDC and DDC elections, which are more important than the municipal ones.

Apart from the serious questions of free and fair civic polls, if these are at all held, the deadline for national elections is being widely interpreted as the government’s strategy for buying time and staying on in power. In a recent resolution, the European Parliament had stressed simultaneous local and national polls. An EU delegation had recently concluded that the state’s lack of ability to deal with security and development issues was due to the ‘lack of local governments’ as well as to the political leadership’s refusal to ‘separate the process from the content.’ Polls are not something to be promised and postponed; the date for them should be announced and held. The people are fed up with empty poll promises for the past three and a half years. If the government really means to hold the national elections, it should demonstrate its bona fides by announcing a date not later than six months. The elected government had been sacked just for its failure to hold promised polls within six months as constitutionally required. The present government should apply the same rule to itself.