Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) B. Lynn Pascoe has expressed optimism regarding the peace process and the success of the timely election to the constituent assembly (CA) in Nepal.
Speaking at a press conference held at the airport in Nepali capital before his departure for New York on Sunday, Pascoe said, "I should say that from the point of view of New York we feel very strongly that the process in Nepal is a very positive one."
Upon completion of his two-day Nepal visit, Pascoe said he was even more optimistic about the success of the election to the constituent assembly (CA) on Nov. 22 than before his visit following his talks with various groups in Nepal.
Stating that the UN has come to help and assist the Government and the people of Nepal in various areas and is very focused on helping the election, he added, " We do not get involved in the political discussions and debates and the arguments - that's up to the Nepalese political class to decide."
He further said, "every person that I talked to is insistent that that election will go forward, at the time agreed. And we are going to try to do as the UN everything that we can possibly do to help make it a huge success. It is critically important to the people of Nepal that their vote be clearly counted, to be very effective, that the election be open and fair and totally transparent, and the United Nations wants to do everything we can to help that to be the case and make sure that is the case."
The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) quoted the UN Under- Secretary-General as saying "I would like to say one thing I think in general: whether the elections will be good, whether they will be bad, whether they will be successful, is fundamentally in the hands of the Nepalese people. This is, after all, an expression of the people's will. I think that everyone, every party leader, feels the pressure from the people of Nepal to have this election. They want to have it. This process, to move forward, has got to keep major steps there. The parties have promised to elect a Constituent Assembly. I would think that the people in this country are going to hold them to their promise. And our interest is to make sure that, as we try to do everywhere in the world, that every Nepali can feel absolutely confident that their vote counts, counts as much as any other vote, that it is accurately tabulated, and that they go through the process to elect the people in a very fair and open way. That's important - really we are talking about the power of the people, not people maneuvering in that time."
Pascoe, who was in Nepal with a special message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, held a meeting with Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and discussed the situation about the peace process in the country.
Source: Xinhua
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