UN asks political parties to hold timely elections in Nepal

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked all political parties in Nepal to overcome political obstacles in holding the country's next elections within the existing time frame.
According to an agreement signed in March 2013 among four major parties in the Himalayan country, polls to 601-member Constituent Assembly were tentatively proposed to be held by mid-June or mid-December 2013 at the latest.
Ban, who has been following events in Nepal closely, called on all the parties to maintain the momentum for holding the next elections as per the recently concluded 11-point agreement, his spokesperson said in a statement yesterday.
"The Secretary-General expresses the continuing commitment of the United Nations to work closely with Nepal in support of the peace process," the statement added.

In March, the four major political parties in Nepal signed a deal appointing the country's chief justice to head the government that will oversee the holding of Constituent Assembly elections, effectively ending the political stalemate that began last year.
Nepal has been plagued by political disputes since a civil war between Government forces and Maoists formally ended in 2007 and the monarchy abolished.
There has been some important progress in the peace process, including the completion of the discharge and integration of the ex-Maoist combatants, holding of the Constituent Assembly elections in 2008, the removal of minefields and abolition of the 240-year-old monarchy.

However, the county was plunged into a deeper political crisis as it missed the deadline of May 27, 2012 for bringing in a new constitution and the constituent assembly was dissolved.