Nepal: Mohan Baidya said that CPN-M would boycott elections peacefully. Is this the party’s policy?
Netra Bikram Chand: We will be active and strong during our boycott. We have a good plan in place to make our protest a success.
So what will your boycott be like?
It’s not like we are declaring war right now. We just want to make polls unsuccessful, our protest is meant to be reactionary.
What will you do after the polls?
Former Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokhrel said the only reason to hold elections was to address the grievances from the people’s war and other struggles and uprisings. How can the country write a new constitution or assemble a CA without the Maoists?
What about the UCPN (M)?
They are not Maoists, they have abandoned Maoist ideologies.
Nepalis seem eager to vote. By boycotting elections isn’t the CPN-M isolating itself?
How can we be isolated when we are raising the people’s voice? It’s the media that makes it seem that everyone is excited about elections. In rural Nepal, people have already made plans to boycott polls.
Is there any possibility of further talks?
We’re still open for discussions to thrash out an outline of the constitution. But why waste time if the talks are going to end inconclusively without any concrete solution.
What is your view of the army?
We fought a decade long war with the national army, but we don’t want another conflict. We’ve talked to the security forces and recommended that they stay out of election areas. The army supported us during the overthrow of the monarchy, it took part in the peace process, and I think it will respect the desires of ordinary Nepalis this time too.
What about security personnel who are in charge of the ballot boxes?
The army must follow the government’s directions and we don’t want to fight them. But that doesn’t mean we will remain silent, we will put up a fight against parties who are brokers of foreign powers.
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