By IANS
Brussels : The European Union (EU) Saturday congratulated the Nepalese people for their “strong commitment to the democratic process in their country”, EuAsiaNews reported.
“I encourage everybody to remain calm and patiently await the election results. These landmark elections will hopefully close a very painful chapter in the country’s history and will constitute the first step in Nepal’s process to restore a representative and vibrant democracy in the country,” Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood, said in a statement.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said that Thursday’s election was “generally calm, orderly and well-organised”.
It noted with satisfaction that despite a rather tense pre-electoral climate the elections registered a high turnout of voters.
The EU has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Nepal, led by a member of the European Parliament, Jan Mulder.
The EU EOM deployed 120 observers from 22 EU member states as well as from Norway and Switzerland throughout Nepal to observe and assess the electoral process, in accordance with international standards for elections as well as the laws of Nepal.
The EOM will stay on the ground until mid-May to observe the post-election developments and the tabulation of results.
The EU EOM will publish a final report covering the elections and containing recommendations on the electoral process in the next few months.