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Polls boycott hits shaky Nepal peace process

AFP, Kathmandu
Ethnic protesters blockading Nepal's capital stepped up their campaign for more political power yesterday saying they would boy-con elections, dealing a fresh blow to the country's shaky peace process.
Election officials said ethnic Mahadhesi parties from the south, who claim to represent nearly half of Nepal's population, missed Wednesday s deadline to register candidates for key polls on April 10.
The elections are for an assembly that will rewrite Nepal’s constitution. the climax of a peace deal between mainstream parties and former Maoist rebels that ended a decade of civil war.
"1 don't know what the government is thinking about holding the elections without Mahadhesi parties and people," Rajendra
Mahato, the leader of the United Democratic Mahadhesi Front (UDMF), told AFP.
The UDMF argues that people in the Mahadhesi-dominated southern Terai region have long been treated as second-class citizens in Nepal, where hill-origin elites dominate politics, the security forces and business.
"For us Mahadhesi people, the election will not make any sense if we are not committed certain things before the polls,” Mahato said.
Mahadhesi protesters blockading Nepal's capital said Thursday they were in talks with the government to try and end unrest that threatens to disrupt crucial polls and damage the country's shaky peace process.
"Informal talks and sharing of notes have been taking place and we are more positive than in previous days," Hridayesh Tripathi, a
UDMF leader, told AFP.
But he added that "government suppression has not stopped, and on the ground the protesters are getting more agitated and aggressive."
For the past week, Mahadhesi protesters demanding more power from Kathmandu to local levels have been blocking the main road between the capital and the Indian border, the main corridor for most of the landlocked country's imports.
Their increasingly violent general strike has left Kathmandu low on fuel and other key commodities.
"We just want certain ideological commitments, so that we can have good participation and representation in the polls," said Mahato referring to compensation for anyone injured or killed in protests, the release of anyone arrested and an end to "excessive force on protesters."