Nepal inches ahead to break political logjam
In agreeing to jointly chart the course of democracy in their country, Nepal's two largest parties have shown a rare sense of political maturity in the midst of a fractured polity. In the process, they have promised to respect the wishes of the electorate which has empowered them with a tremendous mandate to draft a Constitution which has been four years in the making. The Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist leninist) emerged as the two major parties in the November 19 poll, but without either of them having a clear majority. Of the 575 Constituent Assembly seats that were up for grabs, the NC got 196 and the CPN(UMl) secured 175.
Had the two not agreed to form a Government together, Kathmandu would have been caught in yet another political deadlock. However, the vaguely-worded three-point agreement that they signed on Saturday provides at best a tenuous blueprint for power-sharing. For instance, the two parties are yet to decide on who will hold key positions such as that of the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker. The CPN(UMl) is bargaining hard, which is to be expected. But one hopes that the two parties will not let myopic short-term concerns cloud their long-term commitment to the process of nation-building. let us not forget that in 2008, after the first Constituent Assembly election when the Maoists came out on top but without a majority, their chief refused to work with the Nepali Congress and appoint four-time Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala as President. That, and a host of petty disputes, fuelled an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion, making it near-impossible to get any work done. This effectively stagnated the political process for the next five years.
Against this backdrop, the NC and the CPN(UMl)'s decision to also reach out to the Maoists is welcome. Though the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has been relegated to the third spot with just 80 seats, it remains a major stakeholder in Nepalese politics. Any national initiative pressed forth without the support of the Maoists, or for that matter the Madhesi parties, is unlikely to succeed. In this context, the NC's conciliatory approach towards the UCPN(M) is a step in the right direction. The leading parties must refrain from the politics of brinkmanship or else the precious gains secured over the past few years will be threatened. For instance, the recent talk of a referendum on ‘secularism' is disturbing as it amounts to reneging on the 2005 peace treaty that ended a decades-long bloody civil war.
But the burden of reconciliation and consensus politics lies equally with the Maoists — and unfortunately, the former insurgents have not held up their end of the deal. For one, the UCPN(M) has refused to accept the results of the November 19 poll, even though independent observers have said that it was free and fair. Yet, the party and some of its allies have demanded an investigation into alleged election irregularities. Since the Government and the Election Commission have refused, they have threatened to boycott the Constituent Assembly. This is precisely the kind of unnecessary political bickering that has trapped Kathmandu in a state of perpetual logjam.