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IFES - Nepal

Nepal

April 10, 2008, noted Nepal's historic Constituent Assembly election. Approximately 60% of the 17.6 million voters enthusiastically turned out to vote in 9,821 polling locations. Long queues of both men and women patiently lined up from early morning to cast their vote.
 
After the polls closed all ballot boxes were transported to the 75 counting centers in the district capitals. The process of counting and declaration of the elected candidates took several weeks.
 
Quotas were set to guarantee a high representation of oppressed and under-represented groups in society including women who gained an impressive 33% of the seats.

The election was monitored by more than 60,000 domestic and over 900 international observers, including observers from the Carter Center, EU and ANFREL. Statements from major observation groups were very important for the integrity of the electoral process.  The total cost of the election is estimated around 40 million US dollars.

Following the election, the Constituent Assembly held its first sitting on 28th May 2008 and work is currently underway to draft the new Constitution.

Current Projects

Voter Registry Analysis

Following the April 2008 Constituent Assembly elections, all key stakeholders recognized the voter registry needed to be reviewed and improved for future elections. IFES has been providing technical assistance to the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to assist with this effort. This support includes a quantitative nationwide survey to test the accuracy of the existing voter registry and sponsoring two voter registry study trips for an ECN delegation to visit the Bangladeshi, Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli Election Commissions. Based on survey results and feedback from study trips, recommendations on a future voter registration system will be made.

Nepal Election and Constituent Assembly Web-Portal

Working with a local partner, Democracy Elections Alliance of Nepal (DEAN), IFES established the Nepal Election Portal (www.nepalelectionportal.org), a comprehensive on-line resource for information relating to Nepali elections. The portal contains background information on issues such as Nepal's political development and its history of elections, as well as current electoral information and election results. Additionally, building on the success of the Nepal Election Portal, a sister portal was launched on the recently established Constituent Assembly (www.nepalcaportal.org), which contains background on the Constituent Assembly and its members, as well as up-to-date information and analysis on the deliberations of the Assembly.

Constituent Assembly Electoral Process Documentary

IFES has been supporting the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to document the historic process and challenges relating to the Constituent Assembly election held on 10 April 2008.  Working with a local film-maker, footage was recorded of the key stages of the electoral process, including Election Day and the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly. This has been compiled into a Nepali and English documentary, providing an important record for the ECN to use to promote its work at home and abroad. All the footage shot for the documentary is being archived, providing a further training and promotional resource for the Commission.

BRIDGE

In partnership with UNDP and International IDEA, IFES is working with the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to build the capacity of Commission staff through the implementation of the internationally recognized BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections) program for electoral administrators and stakeholders.  Following the participation of three ECN staff in the Facilitator's Training Course, a ten-day Facilitators' course for District Election Officers took place in September 2008, led by an expert from the Australian Election Commission.  Subsequent to this, working with the ECN BRIDGE team, a timetable has been prepared for the implementation of BRIDGE at the regional level, through to the end of 2010.

Past Projects in Nepal »