EU launches Election Observation Mission for Nepal polls

The European Union Election Observation Mission was today officially launched to monitor the general and provincial polls in Nepal which are scheduled for November 26 and December 7.
Around 100 election observers from member countries of the European Union (EU) have been deployed to oversee the polls in the Himalayan nation, an official said.
"It is a great privilege to have been given this opportunity to lead the EU Election Observation Mission to Nepal," Chief Observer Zeljana Zovko, a member of the European Parliament from Croatia told a press conference here.
"The elections scheduled on November 26 and December 7 mark an important stage in Nepal's democratic development and I very much hope that our presence will contribute to an inclusive and transparent electoral process," she remarked.

The EU deployed a 38 member long-term election observers across the country today, who will observe the electoral preparations and the campaign throughout the country.
The mission also dispatched a core team of 10 election analysts that will be based in Kathmandu. The mission will be informed by 20 short-term observers, who will observe the election day proceedings.

Another of its 24 short-term observers will arrive to observe the second election day on December 7.
"The EU Election Observation Team will also be joined by a seven member parliamentary delegation from the European Union as well as diplomats from European countries' missions in Nepal," said a press release issued by the EUEOM.

The mandate of the EU EOM is to observe all aspects of the electoral process and to assess the extent to which the elections are in compliance with the law of Nepal, as well as with international and regional commitments for democratic elections to which the country is a signatory, according to Zovko.
The EU has allocated 3.5 million euro for the entire election observation process.
The general and provincial elections in Nepal were declared on August 21 and are seen as the final step in the Himalayan nation's post-war transition to a federal democracy
The Maoists have dominated Nepal's politics for more than 20 years after waging a decade-long insurgency against government forces that claimed more than 16,000 lives

The civil war in Nepal came to an end in 2006.