KATHMANDU, Nepal, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arrived Wednesday in Nepal, where a political impasse is holding up constituent assembly elections.
On arrival, Carter, who is on a four-day trip to the Himalayan kingdom, expressed concern over the failure of the seven-party interim government to conduct the elections, eKantipur.com reported. This is the second Nepal trip for Carter this year.
The government came into being last year under a U.N.-led peace accord, which helped end Nepal's decadelong Maoist insurgency in which some 13,000 people died.
The current crisis began after the former rebels resigned from the government in September to press demands for the abolition of the kingdom's 238-year-old monarchy and making Nepal a republic. The elections were to be held later this month, but have not been put off indefinitely.
The eKantipur.com report said Nepal had consulted the former U.S. president on the political developments. Carter was scheduled to talk with various political party leaders in the alliance, government officials and other groups on the political issues, the report said.
