By NNN-Nepal News,
Kathmandu : The reports coming till noon, Sunday, have shown that Maoists have bagged 47 seats of the total 85 constituencies where vote counting has been completed.
The Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) has pocketed 16 seats. The Nepali Congress (NC) – which is led by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala – is trailing in third place with 12 seats.
The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) has won in six seats. Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) has won two seats in Bhaktapur and Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) and People’s Front (PF) leader and Minister Girirajmani Pokharel has bagged one seat each.
The latest vote counting show that Maoist candidates are leading in 52 constituencies while UML and NC are leading in 19 and 17 constituencies, respectively.
Meanwhile, Sushil Koirala, the acting president of Nepali Congress (NC), has announced resignation from the position following his defeat in the election and the party’s poor show in initial poll results.
He was defeated in Banke-2 constituency where Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) candidate Sarbadev Ojha won.
Earlier, Madhav Kumar Nepal, the general secretary of UML, too, had announced his resignation following the defeat of his party at the hustings.
Both of their resignations are yet to be accepted by their respective parties.
Meanwhile, Gopal Man Shrestha, vice president of NC, has won from Syangja district.
Former prime minister and president of Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP) Surya Bahadur Thapa lost to Hariraj Limbu of Maoists from Dhankuta-2 constituency.
King Gyanendra has said he is satisfied by the enthusiastic participation of Nepalese people in the Constituent Assembly elections.
“The enthusiastic participation of the Nepalese people in the Constituent Assembly elections, through which they have emphatically reiterated their firm resolve not to compromise the nation’s existence, independence and integrity under any circumstance, is a source of satisfaction for us,” the King says in his customary New Year’s Day message.
“Along with peace and democracy, may the New Year inspire us all to uphold our legendary wisdom in ensuring that our national pride, its distinctive values and identity remain uppermost,” he has further said in the message.
His message has come at a time when the parties have decided that the first meeting of the elected CA will remove monarchy.
“On the occasion of the advent of the New Year 2065, we extend best wishes for peace, good health and prosperity of all Nepalese, living in the country and abroad.”
Nepalese are celebrating New Year 2065 on Sunday.
European Observation Mission has termed the constituent assembly election as a crucial step towards an inclusive democracy in Nepal and said that so far it has met several international standards.
In a statement released in the capital on Saturday, EU said that on election day polling went smoothly overall, despite a limited number of cases of violence and attempts to disrupt the poll leading to the cancellation of voting in some polling stations.
However, the campaign period was tense across the country and marred by incidents of intimidation and violence, it said.
“I commend the people of Nepal for the largely peaceful way in which voting took place despite the difficult circumstances. Voters turned out in large numbers and showed a genuine commitment to an inclusive election,” said Jan Mulder, Chief Observer, adding, “It is now our sincere hope that, as the counting process gets underway across the country, all political parties and their leaders will respect the will of the people and the rule of law by waiting patiently for the election results.”
EU said that there were numerous incidents of clashes between members of political parties and, regrettably, a number of people were killed during the campaign period and that lack of law and order and poor security environment contributed to a general atmosphere of fear and intimidation and at times undermined the right to campaign freely.
“Freedom of speech in the media was generally respected but there were a number of assaults on journalists and one journalist was kidnapped during the final days of the campaign,” the report further said.
“The election commission was independent, largely transparent and conducted technical preparations efficiently but failed to address numerous complaints about breaches of the code of conduct related to partisan government employees, misuse of state resources and electoral violence.” EU said its concern was the unclear appeals process and lack of a consolidated election act, although the legal framework has generally provided for a democratic and inclusive election process in line with international standards.
“This long awaited election has demonstrated the enthusiasm of Nepali people for multi-party democracy and constitutional reform.” said Josep Borrell, the head of a delegation from the European Parliament, which is part of the EU observation mission. “We urge political parties to act responsibly in the coming weeks and show commitment to furthering the country’s democratic progress. The election commission should also ensure the detailed publication of the final results as a safeguard to ensure transparency,” he added.
The EU mission said it will continue to observe the rest of the election process closely, including the count, tabulation of results, the response of the election administration to complaints and the adherence of political parties to the principles of the code of conduct.