Israeli Aid Group to Become Observer of Nepali CA Election this Week

A team of volunteers from the Israeli humanitarian aid group Tevel b'Tzedek will be observing Nepal's elections to the Constituent Assembly (CA) on April 10.

Tevel b'Tzedek, an Israeli based social justice NGO, in partnership with the Israel's Embassy in Kathmandu is the only Israeli non for profit representative to observe the elections. Other observation parties include the United Nations, European Union and the Carter Center for Peace.

The Nepali Prime Minister G.P Koirala thanked Israel's Ambassador Dav Stav and the Executive Director of Tevel b'Tzedek, Rabbi Micha Odenheimer for taking part in the election observation at a reception in his home yesterday.

About 1,000 international observers will be in Nepal by Thursday, making this election the most closely-watched in the nation's history.

The Tevel b'Tzedek team includes 18 Israelis, 3 citizens of England, 3 from America and 1 from Canada. Ages are from 21 years old until 64 years old, and professions include teachers, a lawyer, organizational psychologists, and university students all currently in Nepal.

The Israeli team will be monitoring the elections in the Cherikot district about six hours drive from Kathmandu, an area considered sensitive by Nepali observers because of clashes between political groups that have taken place there.

The Israeli team has received training from both the election committee and from the other delegates such as the JANIPOP election observation team from Bangladesh.

In an effort to ensure the polls are peaceful, the government has mobilized tens of thousands of extra police nationwide and banned the sale of alcohol for a week. The elections will be a key test of the resilience of the peace process, which ended a civil war that claimed at least 13,000 lives.

The Constituent Assembly to be formed after April 10 elections is to decide the future political setup of Nepal the fate of the monarchy and the future shape of the country.

For additional information contact:

Contact: Aya Navon
Cell Phone: +972-52-267-4074
Contact: Michalya Schonwald
Cell Phone: +972- 52-477-5757
Email: tevelbtzedek@gmail.com


(Source: Tevel Betzedek)