UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — UN chief Ban Ki-moon said that he was "disappointed" by the postponement of elections to decide Nepal's future but added that the world body remained ready to help the Himalayan country establish durable peace.
"The Secretary General is disappointed by the decision of the Interim Government of Nepal to postpone the Constituent Assembly Election which had been scheduled for 22 November," Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement.
"He strongly urges the Seven-Party Alliance to redouble efforts so that outstanding issues can be expeditiously resolved and the election held very soon," the statement added.
"The people of Nepal have demonstrated their desire for peace and the stakes are too high to allow manageable differences to deny their aspirations."
Ban said the United Nations remained committed to "assisting efforts to establish a durable peace in Nepal."
Voters were to elect representatives to rewrite Nepal's constitution and decide the fate of the Himalayan country's embattled monarchy.
The polls were a key element of a peace deal sealed last year that ended a decade of insurgency by the Maoists, who are demanding the abolition of the monarchy.
But the vote now faces a delay of at least three months and possibly as long as six months, a Nepalese official said.
As part of last November's peace deal, the UN was invited to supervise Maoist weapons and soldiers, who were confined to camps, as well as assist in the polls.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
