Mark Butler, Member for Port Adelaide and new Chair of the International Party Development Committee reports on the Australian Government election monitoring group sent to observe the Constituent Assembly election held in Nepal on April 10th 2008.

Date:  20 May 2008

The Australian Government sent an election monitoring group to observe the Constituent Assembly election held in Nepal on April 10th 2008. This was the first election held in Nepal since 1999. The Constituent Assembly election was intended to provide a base for drafting a new constitution and to give political effect to peace agreements aimed at ending a decade of civil war.

The election was held in a highly uncertain political and security environment and followed two postponements in 2007. In the lead-up to the election, violence and intimidation remained a significant concern, resulting in border closures and a total ban on vehicular transport on election day.

The Australian Observer Group fielded four teams throughout Nepal; in the Terai and Hills region as well as in Kathmandu. Together, those teams visited over 90 polling booths in those areas.

The Australian teams observed no apparent restriction on the ability to vote at the booths visited by the teams. Indeed, in many booths, votes were cast with obvious enthusiasm. Booths observed by the teams were staffed and attended by effective and dedicated polling officials and national observers. The Australian teams observed no significant or systematic abuses or malpractice in the voting process. The group’s assessment is that voters at the booths observed by the Australian teams were able to exercise their right to vote in a free and fair manner.

The Australian Election Observation Group was led by Mr Mark Butler MP , Member for Port Adelaide (ALP) and included Dr Andrew Laming MP, Member for Bowman (Liberal), Dr Christopher Drury from the Australian Electoral Commission and a number of officials from the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu.

The Australian Election Observation Group appreciated the opportunity to be part of this historic election in Nepal and hopes that the spirit of goodwill and cooperation observed during the election can be carried forward to ensure the smooth and successful drafting of a new constitution that provides the basis for the development of a politically stable and prosperous Nepal.