India on Friday expressed disappointment over the multi-party Nepal government?s decision to defer the Constituent Assembly elections for the third time to stave off a deadly confrontation with the Maoists.
?We are disappointed over the postponement of the elections in Nepal, which has occurred for the third time. The repeated postponement of elections erodes credibility and affects the process of democratic transformation and legitimisation in Nepal,? external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said. ?We hope the special session of the Interim Parliament will address all relevant issues democratically to enable the people of Nepal, who have sacrificed so much, to choose at the earliest their own future and the manner of their governance, through a free and fair election process,? he said.
On Friday, Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala held an emergency meeting of his Cabinet after negotiations with the Maoists broke down and decided to ask the Election Commission to stop all election-related programmes till a special parliamentary session was called to determine the next course of action.
?Though the Election Commission has completed all arrangements, the polls can?t be held by the election commission alone desiring it,? the Nepal poll panel said in a statement.
Koirala will have to call a special session of Parliament, latest by October 13, after the Maoists demanded it and produced the required support from legislators. At the special session, they aim to force the government to abolish monarchy immediately.