Kathmandu, May 30
The CPN-UML has said it cannot trust the report to be submitted by an investigation committee formed by the Election Commission to probe reports of tearing ballot papers in Bharatpur Metropolitan City in Chitwan district.
The party has said the election commissioners themselves should go to the city and probe the incident firsthand.
The party Chairman KP Sharma Oli took a delegation of party’s senior leaders to the Election Commission on Tuesday and told election commissioners including the Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav that the party would not believe the team comprising government staff as ruling parties themselves were involved in planning and implementing the incident of tearing ballot papers.
The Commission on Monday had formed a three-member panel led by a joint attorney general and comprising representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Nepal Police to investigate into the case.
“Persons associated with ruling parties have been arrested on the charge of tearing ballot papers. The Election Commission itself should take initiatives as the incident was planned by ruling parties,” UML Parliamentary Party Deputy Leader Subas Chandra Nembang informed, “The pressure of ruling parties on government employees is obvious. Thus, we have clarified that we will not accept their report.”
Meanwhile, the party also clarified that it would not accept re-polling as it could give a rise to the practice of obstructing counting when one side feared losing.
“We have told them to seal the torn papers and publish the results by counting remaining papers,” Nembang informed.
In response, CEC Yadav assured that the Commission would take an appropriate decision after studying reports from the investigation team and security bodies.
“The Commission will not bow down to the pressure of anybody. We will not let democratic norms and values die,” UML leader Krishna Gopal Shrestha told media quoting Yadav.
