KATHMANDU, Nov 29: At a time when international agencies have welcomed the upcoming elections, a staff at the Department for International Development (DFID) has vehemently urged voters to boycott the elections of House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly in his Facebook profile.
Rakesh Mishra, senior governance advisor to DFID-Nepal, who now has deactivated his Facebook, was vocal to denounce both the constitution and the election as #notmyconstitution and #notmyelection. Referring to the blood of Madheshi martyrs that had largely gone in vain, he also urged voters to boycott the election in a peaceful way.
Mishra’s post not only expresses his anger but also ‘categorizes’ leaders and voters as “bastards”. In his post, he has blamed all RJPN leaders not doing for Madheshi and virtually accepting Nepali constitution.
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DFID reiterated its support on the promulgation of the new constitution and said, “The adoption of a new Constitution is a milestone for Nepal. It has been the UK Government’s longstanding position to encourage all actors in the political process to create conducive environment for peaceful and broadly supported elections, including provincial and parliamentary elections.
The organization has clarified that it has taken such issues seriously and was not positioned to “comment on individual cases”.
“We have reminded all our staff of DFID’s code of conduct which makes clear how we must be, and be seen to be, honest and impartial. We take these issues very seriously. However, we do not comment on individual cases”, the statement said.
“We continue to support the electoral process in Nepal, including with statements promoting peaceful and broadly supported elections and through funding domestic and international election observation missions in the first and second round of elections.”
