Political update
During October, election campaign moved into full swing across the country. Unlike during the previous election in 2008, when parties mounted many large rallies, the emphasis this time has been more on personal contact with voters through village-by-village and door-to-door canvassing. There have been incidents of election related violence across the country, ranging from minor scuffles to acts of vandalism to serious assaults—two people have been killed in apparent political violence, one at the beginning of October and another at the beginning of November (see below for more details). Concerning as the level of political and election related violence is, it is currently much lower than during the 2008 campaign.
Some violence involve clashes between participating parties but the majority of cases involve the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist), which is boycotting and attempting to disrupt the process along with an alliance of 33 other parties. So far the CPN-Maoist has refrained from lethal violence and attempted to avoid confrontation with the security forces, though some members of the party have been arrested for poll obstruction activities. Even in areas where the CPN-Maoist is perceived to be relatively strong, interlocutors of other parties report that they are still able to campaign, indicating that the political space remains open to all for the most part. Many of the CPN-Maoist‟s attacks are directed against the party from which it split in June 2012, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M). The CPN-Maoist is expected by many interlocutors to intensify its activities in the final weeks of the election campaign, as election staff and materials are deployed to polling centres across the country—though media reports on 7 November indicated that the 33-party alliance might reduce the length of the all Nepal bandh already planned 11-20 November (see below for more details).
The political parties have released their manifestos, which put forward similar economic visions and mostly restate the parties‟ previous positions on outstanding constitutional issues (including on federal state restructuring and forms of government). However, campaigning to date has largely focused on personal and local issues rather than policy debates. Importantly, the campaign has not yet seen a repeat of the tensions surrounding identity and federalism issues at the time when the first Constituent Assembly (CA) dissolved in May 2012. In many places election races are close and keenly competitive, especially where major national political leaders are vying against one another. At this point in time, the overall result is impossible to predict.
On 6 November, the UN Resident Coordinator issued a statement on behalf of the International Community in Nepal regarding the elections process to-date.1 The statement applauded “the efforts of all stakeholders, including the interim government, the Election Commission, the political parties and the media, to make this process a success. Especially we commend the role of thousands of candidates who are conducting their election campaigns abiding by the Election Code of Conduct.” In the statement, the international community advocated that “Everyone should respect the democratic right to take part in a peaceful, open and inclusive election. Bandhs or strikes, when enforced by violence or the threat of violence, are a violation of the political rights of citizens and against the laws of Nepal” and was encouraged by “the restraint shown so far by the police, security forces and the Home Ministry, in providing election security with professionalism in the face of provocation during this sensitive period.”