US urges Nepal to conduct polls peacefully

KATHMANDU: The US today urged Nepal to conduct the upcoming elections in a peaceful manner, days after a number of attacks against candidates were reported.

"Following the largely peaceful conduct of Nepal's three phases of local elections, the US is alarmed at recent attacks on political candidates and condemns any attempt to impede the electoral process through the use of violence," said a statement issued by the US Embassy here.

"We call on all sides to maintain and uphold a peaceful and democratic election process for both rounds of upcoming parliamentary and provincial elections.

"A key principle of democratic electoral systems is protecting the rights of citizens to participate in the electoral process without fear of violence or harm," it said.

A number of explosions have occurred in different parts of the country ahead of the two phases of provincial and parliamentary elections.

Around a dozen political activists belonging to different political parties sustained injuries in these attacks.

"We urge everyone to respect the freedoms of peaceful expression and assembly, and individual voters' rights as laid out in Nepal's laws and Constitution.

"Elections are a time for political debate, but in a democracy, the mechanism for expressing disagreements is through the ballot box," the US said.

The US remains committed to working with all stakeholders for a peaceful, inclusive, and credible election process, the statement said.

Nepal is organising provincial and parliamentary elections in two phases on November 26 and December 7.

The elections are seen as the final step in Nepal's transition to a federal democracy following a decade-long civil war till 2006 that claimed more than 16,000 lives.