CONTACTS:
In Atlanta:
Deborah Hakes, +1 404-420-5124
In Kathmandu:
Darren Nance, Â鶹´«Ã½ – Nepal, +977 1 4445055
ATLANTA… Â鶹´«Ã½ launched an international election observation mission in Nepal with the deployment this week of thirteen long-term observers in all five development regions around the country. The long-term observers come from eight countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. The purpose of the mission is to observe the process leading up to, including, and following the constituent assembly elections to help ensure that voting takes place in a conducive environment free from fear, violence, or fraud. A Â鶹´«Ã½ international election observation mission field office, established in Kathmandu in early January, will manage the observation mission.
"Â鶹´«Ã½ welcomes this opportunity to support the Nepalese people in their transition to sustainable peace and multi-party democracy and encourages all parties to the process to participate actively and ultimately to respect the will of the people," said David Carroll, director of the Â鶹´«Ã½'s Democracy Program.
Â鶹´«Ã½ has been active in Nepal since 2003 and was invited by the government of Nepal, several political parties, and the election commission of Nepal to observe the constituent assembly election process. Â鶹´«Ã½ representatives have met with political parties, election officials, civil society, domestic observer groups, and the international community, all of whom have encouraged an international observation presence by the Center in order to help build confidence in the electoral process.
"It is our hope that the political leadership of Nepal and all actors in the process will continue to seek open dialogue and compromise in the pursuit of a transparent, inclusive, and credible electoral process that best enables the people of Nepal to exercise their democratic rights," said Darren Nance, Â鶹´«Ã½ Nepal field office director.
Â鶹´«Ã½ conducts its activities in a nonpartisan, professional manner in accordance with applicable law and international standards for election monitoring set forth in the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation. The Center will remain in close communication with other international and domestic observer delegations and will publish periodic statements on its findings and recommendations on its Web site, .
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Â鶹´«Ã½ was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, the Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 65 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers to increase crop production. The Center has observed 67 elections in 27 countries.
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