By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, (IANS) Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, saw over NRS 1.5 billion ($23 million) go down the drain due to the government’s inability to hold elections in November, the Election Commission said.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s decision to indefinitely put off the constituent assembly election scheduled for Nov 22 has resulted in a colossal waste of taxpayers’ as well as foreign donors’ money, according to the poll expenditure report made public by the Election Commission Tuesday.
With over 30 percent of its population living below the poverty line, Nepal had seen the allocation of NRS 732 million for the election that is considered as the key to restoring peace and stability in a country racked by a 10-year communist insurgency.
Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokhrel said that his office had already spent NRS 515 million in training officials, educating voters and publishing election related documents, including ballot papers.
In addition, Nepal’s major donors, especially the European Union, had pledged support worth over NRS 530 million for the stalled election.
However, with the government deciding at the 11th hour to put off the exercise indefinitely to avoid a direct confrontation with the Maoists who had announced they would oppose the polls, most of the money will now go waste.
“The government could not utilise our efforts,” lamented Pokhrel, who earlier this month said he was regretfully suspending all poll-related programmes since his office alone could not conduct the election.
The election officers’ training could also go waste if fresh election dates are not announced soon.
However, there is no possibility of new dates being announced for at least a fortnight as from Thursday all government offices will close for Dashain, Nepal’s biggest Hindu festival.
Besides the money and technical assistance given to the government, foreign donors also funded NGOs in Nepal to launch voters’ awareness campaigns. According to reports, 24 NGOs received over NRS 160 million for such campaigns across the country.
The actual loss in terms of wasted opportunities is incalculable.
Nepal has been hurtling towards lawlessness with crime soaring. Industries are exiting the country due to the lack of security, extortion and frequent strikes. The government has failed to revise its fuel policy, something urgently needed to address the escalating shortage of petroleum products as well as the bleeding of the state exchequer due to its policy of selling fuel below world market prices.
The Koirala government did not increase oil prices before the election, fearing public discontent. Now with the election in jeopardy, the oil policy has become one of its major weaknesses.
In addition, the government lost its credibility in the eye of the world. Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan, who returned to Nepal recently from attending the UN General Assembly in New York, said Nepal’s image had been tarnished by the repeated postponements with foreign governments wondering if the government meant to go to the polls at all.