Elections: Nepal strongly objects European Union report

The Nepalese government on Wednesday strongly objected a recent report released by the European Union’s Election Observation Mission regarding the country’s parliamentary and provincial elections held in November and December.

In its election observation report released on Wednesday, the EU Election Observation Mission to Nepal raised questions over the elections’ transparency, fairness and electoral process.

Issuing a strongly-worded statement, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that some of the recommendations and comments in the report have undermined the successful holding of the smooth, peaceful and impartial elections.

“It is unfortunate that the report has made unwarranted comments about the political issues that have already been settled.

“The elections were a milestone in terms of the implementation of the Constitution as well as the conclusion of Nepal’s peace process,’’ the ministry said.

Nepal held the two elections simultaneously in two phases on Nov. 26 and Dec. 7 respectively, which were seen as a crucial step to implement the milestone new constitution promulgated in September 2015.