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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KATHMANDU 001092 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KDEM NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: ELECTION COMMISSION HAS PLAN BUT LACKS LAWS 
AND SECURITY 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel told 
visiting Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and 
Labor Barry Lowenkron and Ambassador Moriarty May 31 that the 
externalities, including the uncertain security situation and 
the absence of election legislation, were the Election 
Commission's (EC) biggest challenges.  Pokharel reported that 
the Eight-Party Alliance appeared to have reached an informal 
understanding on a new date in November for the Constituent 
Assembly election.  Pokharel stressed that the work of the EC 
would be stalled until the Interim Parliament passed the 
necessary legislation defining the electoral process.  The 
Chief Commissioner described election security as the largest 
obstacle to a successful, free and fair election.  He also 
detailed the EC's plans for voter education, outreach and 
polling stations. 
 
Apparent Eight-Party Agreement On November Election 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (C) At a meeting on May 31 with the Assistant Secretary 
for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Barry Lowenkron and 
Ambassador Moriarty, Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj 
Pokharel stated that he believed the Eight-Party Alliance, at 
a meeting earlier the same day, had agreed on a Constituent 
Assembly election date in the third week of November.  (Note: 
 The eight parties later announced their commitment to hold 
the election no later than December 15.  End note.)  However, 
Pokharel added that the Maoists still had reservations and 
wanted a republic declared first.  Pokharel explained that 
the political situation and the security environment had made 
the original June election date unmanageable. 
 
Parliament's Priority Must Be Election Legislation 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. (C) The Chief Election Commissioner told the Assistant 
Secretary and the Ambassador that election legislation had to 
 
SIPDIS 
be the Interim Parliament's first priority.  He stated that 
the concerns of the ethnic groups in the Terai about a mixed 
election system had to be reflected in the legislation. 
(Note: The Interim Constitution provided that roughly half of 
the seats in the Constituent Assembly would be decided 
through a first-past-the-post constituency system and the 
other half through a proportional system.)  He emphasized 
that in order to create the right environment for the 
election, a real consensus needed to be reached.  The people 
had to be consulted and included in the process. 
 
The Security Situation: The Biggest Obstacle 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Pokharel stressed that the lack of law and order was 
the most critical obstacle to a successful free and fair 
election and commented that there were still unanswered 
questions regarding the Maoists, whom he referred to as the 
"new political party."  He explained that, with the Nepal 
Army unavailable for election security under the terms of the 
peace agreement, the number of security forces available for 
the election would be substantially reduced.  The police 
force, he said, had already been tested by the conflict and 
were highly demoralized.  In light of this difficult 
situation, the EC intended to deploy as many election 
observers as possible.  Pokharel optimistically commented 
that building local observation teams could actually be more 
effective than a big security force. 
 
Phased Elections May Be Considered 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) In response to the Ambassador's question about the 
possibility of phased elections, Pokharel said that the EC 
was analyzing the possibility of a phased election with 
 
KATHMANDU 00001092  002 OF 003 
 
 
polling throughout the country occurring over several days. 
He explained that there were many considerations, including 
weather and harvest times.  He stated that a decision would 
be made about two months before the election, and that it 
would depend on what happened between now and then.  (Note: 
The last general election in 1999 took place on two different 
days, 10 days apart.) 
 
Voter Education Critical 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) The Chief Election Commissioner stated that voter 
education was another important issue.  He explained that 
this process could not begin until the election legislation 
had been finalized, but stressed the importance of educating 
the people about both the process and the importance of their 
participation.  The level of literacy, the number of 
languages and Nepal's geography all added to the difficulty 
of reaching every potential voter.  He told the Assistant 
Secretary and the Ambassador that the EC needed a minimum of 
 
SIPDIS 
120 days to implement its education program.  He stressed 
that the Interim Parliament's failure to pass the necessary 
election legislation was delaying the EC's work in this area. 
 
 
Outreach Plan 
------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Pokharel described the EC's outreach plan to use civic 
society, mass media, printed materials and door-to-door 
solicitation to reach all the people of Nepal.  Civil society 
organizations would be tasked with providing civic education 
programs emphasizing the importance of people's participation 
in the election.  Mass media, including radio and television, 
would air public service announcements.  Printed materials in 
16 or 17 different languages would be distributed.  In each 
of the nearly 4,000 Village Development Committees (VDC) at 
least two volunteers, one man and one woman, would be trained 
to deliver "invitations" to vote to each household with 
information about election polling centers and voter numbers. 
 Pokharel emphasized the need for volunteers who spoke the 
local language so they could communicate with all the 
households.  In response to the Ambassador's question 
regarding the methodology for finding non-partisan 
volunteers, the Chief Commissioner commented that, in Nepal, 
it was impossible to find a single non-partisan person. 
Instead, he stressed, the EC would train local people who 
would be accountable to their communities, such as teachers 
and health workers. 
 
Physical Infrastructure Weak 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Pokharel stated that the EC estimated there would be 
approximately 17,500 polling stations in 7,000 to 9,000 
locations.  He explained that, traditionally, polling 
stations had been in schools, community centers, Village 
Development Committee offices and, when necessary located in 
open-air locations.  He added that, during the conflict over 
2,000 VDC offices had been destroyed, making it necessary for 
the EC to create many more open-air polling stations. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (C) Assistant Secretary Lowenkron told Chief Election 
Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel that he was impressed with the 
Commission's preparations for the Constituent Assembly 
election.  Clearly, the Commission has a comprehensive plan 
to manage a meaningful election.  However, as Pokharel 
acknowledged, externalities that the EC cannot completely 
predict or control present real challenges.  Maoist 
intimidation and misbehavior remain huge obstacles to the 
success of the election.  The role of international and 
domestic observers will be critical.  Voter education is 
another critical piece.  However, unless the eight parties 
find consensus on the election process and pass the necessary 
 
KATHMANDU 00001092  003 OF 003 
 
 
legislation in a timely manner, the EC's well-laid plans to 
reach out to, and educate, Nepali voters about the up-coming 
election will be thwarted. 
 
¶10. (U) Assistant Secretary Lowenkron has cleared this 
message. 
MORIARTY