EDR needed for impartial elections: CJ Karki

Kathmandu, July 20: Chief Justice Sushila Karki Thursday underscored the need for the transparent and effective dispute resolution (EDR) mechanism in order to conduct elections impartially and successfully.  

Addressing a two-day regional workshop on EDR and electoral justice, she said, “Transparent and effective dispute resolution mechanism is needed to have credible election. Unresolved electoral dispute can trigger election-related violence and erode the faith of the people in government.”

Chief justice Sushila Karki. Photo: NDTV

According to Karki, EDR and electoral justice were essential components to determine whether the election could truly be considered genuine.

She maintained that due to technical complexity and politically divisive nature, sometimes electoral processes are vulnerable to disputes.

Stating that periodic elections were crucial for institutionalizing democracy, CJ Karki said that a free, fair and acceptable election was essential to reflect the will of the people, and therefore EDR mechanisms and electoral justice should be effective.

She urged the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to design appropriate EDR and electoral justice system, including their periodic review and said that it would play decisive role to ensure consolidation of democracy and adherence to the legal framework.

Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Ayodhi Prasad Yadav said that the ECN was mandated to hold national, provincial and local elections in next 18 months as per the constitution. He informed that the government had recently endorsed constitution implementation work-plan which includes conduct of three elections before 21^st January 2018.

"Election Commission has adopted universal electoral cycle approach and continues to make necessary legal and technical preparations to hold these elections as mandated by the constitution," he said.

According to Dr. Yadav, the workshop was organized to exchange the best practices, lessons learnt, institutional and legal mechanism, and models for responsive EDR and electoral justice in South Asia and other Election Management Bodies (EMBs).

"I believe that this workshop will promote regional dialogue on effective EDR and electoral justice leading to credible and inclusive electoral processes," he said.

He recalled that although the elections in the past witnessed some degree of breaches of the Code of Conduct in the form of violence and intimidation, the Constitution Assembly election in 2013 recorded relatively violence-free election and code of conduct found greater acceptance among electoral stakeholders.

Election commissioner Ila Sharma stated that elections were essential of any democratic system to give people the rights and access to a process where the country is ruled by the people.

However, she remarked that elections alone cannot bring about democracy unless accompanied by the establishment of rule-of-law institutions, electoral reforms conducive to the creation of a level playing field, an environment free of intimidation, empowered and informed voters and the proper development and growth of political parties.

"EDR and electoral justice are fundamental to build up stable political and regular legal systems that safeguard the political rights of the citizens and legitimacy of the overall electoral process, and the system should be able to contribute to protect the fundamental rights and strengthen the democratic governance," she said.

High level representatives from all SAARC countries and South Korea are participating in the conference. The conference will conclude on Friday.