By IANS
New Delhi/Kathmandu : India Friday expressed disappointment over the indefinite postponement of the November elections in Nepal, stating that the frequent deferment of poll “erodes credibility” and affects the process of transformation to democracy.
“We are disappointed at the postponement of the elections in Nepal, which has occurred for the third time,” said external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna in a statement issued Friday evening. He stressed that the “repeated postponement of elections erodes credibility and affects the process of democratic transformation and legitimisation in Nepal”.
New Delhi added that it was hoping that the special session of the Interim Parliament, called on Thursday, would address all relevant issues democratically “to enable the people of Nepal, who have sacrificed so much, to choose at the earliest their own future and the manner of their governance, through a free and fair election process”.
The reaction came soon after India’s ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee flew to New Delhi to brief the officials about the fresh developments.
India’s reaction comes two months after Mukherjee’s statement that the Koirala government would lose its legitimacy if it failed to hold the election on Nov 22.
Last month, when Indian foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon visited Kathmandu and met the top political leaders, he had said all of them, including the Maoists, were positive about holding the election in November.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the Maoists decided late Thursday night to defer the scheduled Nov 22 elections yet again after failing to reach an agreement on two major issues.
A special session of the Interim Parliament has been called for Oct 11 to resolve the contentious issues, including the Maoist demand for immediate abolition of monarchy without waiting for the polls.
Both the United States and European Union have reacted negatively to the indefinite delay in the elections.
“The people of Nepal have been denied a timely opportunity to elect representatives to decide the framework for the future government of Nepal,” the US Embassy in Kathmandu said in a brief statement.
In a joint statement, the EU heads of mission in Kathmandu said while they were “deeply disappointed” that elections would not take place as scheduled, realising that it was a critical opportunity in Nepal’s peace process, they were ready to continue their support.