KATHMANDU: The election of Non-Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA) has been postponed following direction of the government.
The government has given written instructions to stop the election and session of the NRNA, International Coordinating Council. The government has ordered an investigation into irregularities in the union’s election process and a halt to the election until an investigation report is received.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had issued a directive letter to the NRNA on September 9 stating that the remaining work related to the election of the International Coordinating Council and the National Coordinating Council should be stopped.
The government of Nepal has also received a three-member monitoring committee under the coordination of the Joint Secretary of the Ministry Bharat Kumar Regmi to investigate the allegations of fraud in the selection of representatives for the NRNA ICC in various countries.
Joint Secretary Regmi is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Policy, Planning, Development Diplomacy, and Nepali Affairs Division abroad. Regmi’s committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The directive letter does not say how long it will take for the committee to submit its report. However, an order has been issued to suspend all ICC and NCC election-related activities until the committee submits its report.
The government directive states that complaints of election irregularities have been lodged in Australia, Germany, the United States, New Zealand, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Portugal, and that elections in those countries will be investigated.
The letter also accused the NRNA ICC of not responding to a letter asking about the irregularities in the election in Japan. The Left has been accused of using the MIS system in Japan’s election and using fake votes to win over its supporters.