Campaigning for Nepal’s upcoming Constituent Assembly election continues in relative calm across much of the South Asian nation, but a significant number of districts have experienced a surge in clashes between different political party supporters, according to UN News Centre.
Prepared by the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), in conjunction with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, a report, released Sunday was the second in a series being published on conditions for the polls, scheduled for 10 April.
The report highlights the results of UNMIN and OHCHR-Nepal monitoring over the past week, related to violence by groups opposed to the election, violations of the electoral code of conduct and of human rights, and the monitoring of arms and armies.
GRUPPER FORSØGER AT OBSTRUERE VALGET
The main threats to peaceful campaigning were continuing acts of violence by armed groups in the Terai, and obstruction, intimidation and violence carried out by supporters of political parties against candidates and supporters of competing parties, as well as intimidation of voters, states the report.
Among the gravest incidents during the past week were the killings of two cadres of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) in Kapilvastu and Solukhumbu, which bring the total number of violent deaths of Maoists since 5 February to at least seven.
In addition, a bomb attack yesterday at a mosque in Biratnagar left two dead.
Also of deep concern are widespread reports, confirmed by UNMIN and OHCHR monitoring and investigation, of continued Maoist intimidation of rival parties and voters, with clashes between the CPN-M and the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), Nepali Congress and Rastrya Prajatantra parties becoming frequent.
Kilde: www.un.org
