A meeting of the alliance held in the capital on Wednesday decided to issue a seven-day ultimatum to the Interim Election Council to address its 13-points demands. Top leaders of FDF are scheduled to inform Chairman of the Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi about the ultimatum on Thursday. [break]
“If the Interim Election Council addresses our concerns within the given deadline, it will create environment conducive to polls,” Chairman of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) Upendra Yadav told Republica, adding, “If it fails to do so, we will announce breakdown of talks with the present government and take to the streets.”
Asked about nature of their protests, Yadav said they will take a decision regarding the issue after expiry of the ultimatum issued by them. “Let the ultimatum expire,” he added.
Madhesi and Janajati leaders have accused the Interim Election Council of being a “puppet” of three major political parties -- UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML.
“We have concluded that the present government-led by bureaucrats cannot take any political decision independently,” Yadav stated.
The meeting also concluded that the Interim Election Council does not have capability to forge consensus with other political forces. “How can the present government conduct Constituent Assembly (CA) election when it has even failed to conduct student election?” Yadav questioned.
According to leaders associated with the alliance, they have held three rounds of talks with the government so far.
FDF comprises MPRF, National Madhes Socialist Party (NMSP), Tamsaling Nepal Rastriya Dal (TNRD), Rastriya Janamukti Party, Khambuwan Swayatta Rajya Parishad, Janamukti Party Nepal and Nepal Shanti Samaj Party.
The alliance has demanded that HLPC be dissolved stating that it may influence the CA election. FDF has said that polls cannot be conducted freely and fairly until HLPC exists arguing that HLPC may influence the Interim Election Council in serving the interests of UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML.
The alliance has also demanded resignation of Regmi from the post of chief justice saying that a single person cannot hold the posts both as the head of the government and the judiciary as it is against the democratic norms and values, principle of separation for powers and constitutional checks and balances.
Arguing that reducing the seats allocated under proportional representation is a conspiracy to curtail representation of Madhesis, women, Muslim, Dalits, and other marginalized groups in the CA, FDF has rejected the proposed 240 seats under the proportional representation electoral system.
The alliance has demanded that the proportion of those elected under the first past the post electoral system and PR system be fixed in line with the CA election held in April, 2008.
FDF has also maintained that the provision of nominating CA members should be scrapped arguing that it would be undemocratic to send nominated members to an elected institution.
Likewise, it has demanded that the issue of citizenship distribution should be settled before the elections and electoral constituencies delineated in line with the 2011 national census. Similarly, the Madhesi and Janajati alliance has said that the political parties should arrive at consensus on basic principles of the new statute through an all-party gathering.
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