By DPA
Kathmandu : Tens of thousands of people took part in a rally in Nepal’s capital Monday organized by seven ruling parties to express their commitment to hold key elections, scheduled for April 10.
Thousands of people, many from outlying areas of Kathmandu, rallied through the city before assembling into a mass gathering.
Addressing the gathering, top leaders repeatedly stressed that they would not postpone the elections to choose a constituent assembly. The polls have already been postponed three times since June 2007.
Amid cheers and clapping, Maoist leaders reiterated their party’s commitment to hold elections in April, and said attempts to disrupt the process would be met with resistance.
“This gathering is a challenge to all those, including foreign forces, who want to dampen Nepal’s peace process,” Maoist chairman Prachanda said.
“We are proposing the creation of a new Nepal and federal structure of governance,” Prachanda told a cheering crowd.
Prachanda also criticized recent comments on integration of Maoist combatants into the national army.
The Nepalese army as well as Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala have said it would not be right to include politically indoctrinated fighters into the national army.
Other leaders also stressed the importance of holding elections on time, as repeated postponement would lead to loss of credibility of the seven parties.
The elections to choose the constituent assembly election is a key part of the peace process between the government and the Maoists that formally ended a decade-long communist insurgency.
The constituent assembly is tasked with rewriting the country’s new constitution and ratify a decision by the interim parliament to declare the country a federal republic.
The gathering was the start of a series of awareness programmes, which the seven party alliance says is aimed at creating an environment for elections.