[TACHANDA

PRACHANDAA AGAIN ASSUMES LEADERSHIP OF HLPM

Kathmandu, 16 July: Maoist Chairman Prachnnda Tuesday assumes

charge of the four-party HLPM for the second time for one month.

The constituents share the rotating chairmanship.

Prachanda took charge from Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar—chairman of MJFL and the front of Madesh parties-- on the first day of the Nepali month

Shrawan.

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FORMER VOLLEYBALL CAPTAIN RETIRES FROM GAME

Kathmandu, 16 July: Bharat Shah, gormer national volleyball captain.

announced his resignation Mondau .

Shah said he will be actively involved in developing the game.

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ONLY 12.1 MILLION VOTERS FOR NOV.POLL

Kathmandu, 16 July: With the expiry on Monday of the deadline set by the Election Commission (EC) for registering voters in the new electoral rolls with photos and biometrics, altogether 12.1 million voters across the country have been registered., Gani Ansari writes in Republica. The number is 5.5 million lesser than the total number of voters registered for the 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA) election. Altogether 17.6 million voters were registered for the 2008 CA election. However, Election Commissioner Ayodhi Prasad Yadav does not accept that such a large numbers of voters are left to be registered in the new electoral rolls. “According to the latest census report, the total population of those above 18 years is 16.4 million and the latest economic survey conducted by the government shows that 3 million people are abroad for employment while we have registered 12.1 million voters,” he maintained. He said the number of voters did not increase as the new electoral rolls with photos and biometrics are more scientific than the previous ones. “There are no chances of duplication in the new electoral rolls and voters who are no longer alive have been removed from the list,” Commissioner Yadav argued. “Also, some voters have willingly not gotten registered.” According to Yadav, the EC has been registering voters in the new electoral rolls with photos and biometrics since September 15, 2010. He said that the EC will begin to verify the new electoral rolls from Tuesday. As per the timeline issued by the constitutional body for the upcoming CA polls, it will ask voters to file any objections or claims over the voters lists, probe the issues and finalize the new electoral rolls and publish the final list between July 15 and August 5. Asked if the commission would give another chance to voters for registration, EC Spokesman Bir Bahadur Rai said, “We will not give another chance due to lack of time.” He added, “It will also affect the already scheduled election calendar.” The EC on June 6 set mid-July of this year as the cutoff date for eligible voting age for the upcoming CA election. The commission had also decided that eligible citizens can register themselves in the new electoral rolls with photos and biometrics by July 15. According to Section B of Sub-clause 1 of Clause 5 of the Electoral Rolls Act, 2063, a Nepali citizen who has completed the age of 18 years on or before the last day of the month of Chaitra (around 13 April) in the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the electoral rolls were compiled, will be eligible to vote. Nepali citizens who had completed 18 years of age on or before the last day of Mangsir of the year 2063 (Dec 15, 2006) were declared eligible voters in the CA election of 2008. The constitutional body had recently deployed mobile teams along with teams fielded across the country by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) in order to register new voters in the electoral rolls. MoHA had deployed its mobile teams to distribute citizenship certificates, which are mandatory for new voters to be registered in the new electoral rolls. Nnnn FOREIGN SECRETARY BHATTARAI APPOINTED PERMANENT REP.TO UN
FOREIGN SECRETARY BHATTARAI AAPPOINTED PERMANENT REP. TO UN
Kathmandu, 16 July: The government has filled the long vacant position of Nepal´s ambassador and permanent representative to United Nations in New York nearly one year after the post fell vacant, Kosh Raj Koirala writes in Republica.. A cabinet meeting held at Singha Durbar on Monday decided to appoint Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai for the post of Nepal´s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. The post had fallen vacant after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed Nepal´s then Permanent Representative Gyan Chandra Acharya as under secretary general for the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) on August 14, 2012. Joint Secretary Sewa Adhikari, who is the deputy chief of mission in New York, started working as officiating chief of mission since the post fell vacant. The appointment of Bhattarai comes in the wake of criticisms from various quarters for the government´s failure to make appointment even to key positions like the UN Mission in New York---the center of multilateral diplomacy. The crucial post was left vacant even during the UN General Assembly last year. With the appointment of Bhattarai as Nepal´s permanent representative to the UN, senior most joint secretary at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Arjun Bahadur Thapa will now assume the post of foreign secretary. Thapa, who has been serving as joint secretary for the past 14 years now, has on many occasions in the past served as officiating foreign secretary, besides Nepali ambassador to the United Arab of Emirates (UAE). An understanding to appoint Foreign Secretary Bhattarai as Nepal´s permanent represeentative to the UN was reached during a meeting held between the senior leaders of the parties represented in the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) and Chairman of Interim Election Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi in Baluwatar earlier in the morning. The parties had agreed not to send political appointees to the Nepali mission in New York, Geneva and Belgium. According to UCPN (Maoist) Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the government and the parties have reached an understanding to give full shape to the constitutitutional bodies and appoint ambassadors in the vacant positions. The parties will forge consensus on the appointments within next two-three days. Sources familiar with the development said the government is also preparing to appoint envoys to various countries that have been left without ambassadors for the past few years.“"We are preparing to submit criterion for ambassadorial appointments. The government will then take necessary decisions”" said a senior official at MoFA. Currently, ambassadorial positions in India, Egypt, Thailand and Malaysia are lying vacant. While the position of envoy to Germany falling vacant within a month, it is now Nepal´s turn to give candidacy for the SAARC secretary general due to fall vacant in March, 2014. The process to appoint ambassadors could not take place in the past as it required parliamentary hearings until an amendment was made to the Interim Constitution 2007 in March this year. The amendment removed the mandatory provision of parliamentary hearing for the appointments of ambassadors and members of the constitutional bodies in view of the dissolution of parliament in May 27, 2012. Nnnn