CJ-led Government-23

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

The government, the four-party political mechanism, and the 33-party front have been holding talks to build rapport. Obviously, the 33-party front led by the CPN-Maoist has narrowed down its demand to a round table conference or an all-party conference for building a national consensus on forming a new government to hold elections to a new constituent assembly (CA) and then to craft a new constitution. Leaders of the 33-party front have discarded almost all other demands, and have been coming closer to set up a harmonious relationship with the four-party political mechanism and the government once they had labeled them as unconstitutional, and had demanded to dissolve them immediately. However, they have been sticking to their demand for a round table conference to build a national consensus on forming a new all-party government for holding elections to a CA even though it might be impossible to meet.

Their demands had been for revoking the 25-point ordinance issued by the president to remove the obstacles in the way to holding elections, and the 11-point agreement the four parties had reached, dissolving the four-party political mechanism, and the current government led by the Chief Justice, postponing the elections to a new CA scheduled for the November 19, 2013, suspending all election-related activities, and holding a round table conference of all political parties represented in the dissolved CA for forming an all-party government to hold the elections to a new CA.

Leaders of the CPN-Maoist: the main constituent of the 33-party front have been saying that the 25-point ordinance has mutilated the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 suspending the 22 articles of the constitution. The 25-point ordinance has suspended the 22 articles of the constitution to remove the obstacles in the way to form a government led by the chief justice and the retired former State officials, and to hold elections to a new CA. Leaders of the CPN-Maoist had demanded to restore the suspended 22 articles of the constitution.

They argued that the president had overstepped the Interim Constitution and issued the 25-point ordinance unconstitutionally. So, the current government formed following the unconstitutional ordinance was also unconstitutional; and it should be dissolved immediately. They were not for recognizing any activities of the current government. So, the elections to a new CA to be held by the unconstitutional government would be unconstitutional, too. All the elections-related activities should be immediately stopped, the CPN-Maoist leaders had demanded.

The CPN-Maoist leaders also had said that the 11-point agreement the four parties had reached, and the four-party political mechanism set up following the agreement also were unconstitutional, and should be immediately dissolved. They also had charged the president with following the recommendations of the unconstitutional four-party political mechanism.

Leaders of CPN-Maoist have been saying that they are not against the elections to a new CA but they are against the unconstitutional means the four-party political mechanism has adopted, and the president has simply endorsed the unconstitutional process of the elections to a new CA. So, they wanted to stop all the election-related activities, and immediately call a round table conference of all political parties represented in the dissolved CA, and build a consensus on forming a new all-party government for holding the elections to a new CA. That is the only constitutional means of holding the elections, the Maoist leaders argued.

The CPN-Maoist leaders claimed that the split-away CPN-Maoist was formed with more than 90 members of the dissolved CA. The Maoist leaders said that any election held without the participation of the CPN-Maoist would not be legitimate. The irony is that the Maoist leaders have so far failed in legitimatizing the CPN-Maoist.

Maoist leader claimed that their party should be recognized as the fourth major party after the UCPN-Maoist, NC, and CPN-UML. They complained that their party had been placed in the fifth place. However, these leaders have ignored to formalize their CPN-Maoist party registering it at the Election Commission, or at the State agency for its recognition. They did not try to prove what they said was in fact true. In other words, they did not want to follow the rule of law but wanted to bully everybody including the president.

Once, Chairman of CPN-Maoist Mohan Vaidhya had said that his party did not recognize anybody except for the president as constitutional. He had said that his party would hold talks with the president only. However, the president did not show any interest in holding talks with the party that had no official status.

Chairman Vaidhya got the official recognition of his party from the Chinese leaders only. He had been in China twice to formalize the relationship of his party with the Chinese officials that had reluctantly formalized the visit of Chairman Vaidhya. However, Chairman Vaidhya has not been able to get the formal recognition from the Indian leaders. So, the Indian External Minister did not invite Mr. Vaidhya to talk to him when he visited Nepal on July 9, 2013. Indian leaders did not court Mr. Vaidhya. Almost all Nepalese leaders of the major political parties were invited to visit India but not Vaidhya. So, how could his party claim the fourth place when it has no official status?

Even though the CPN-Maoist has been officially not recognized, and has been ignored by the vital neighboring country, the international community, and most of the Nepalese leaders, and the president want the CPN-Maoist participate in the elections to be held on November 19, 2013 so that the question of the legitimacy of the elections would not arise.

Now, the CPN-Maoist leaders have been more concerned with getting their party recognized than getting their demands meet. Gradually, they have reduced their demands and ultimately reached to the demand for building a national consensus on an all-party government through a round table conference for holding the elections. They don’t care whether forming an all-party government is possible or not.

As already said, the CPN-Maoist is officially non-existence. So, the leaders of the CPN-Maoist want to prove that the CPN-Maoist is the political party to count in. Their demand for holding a round table conference is to demonstrate that the CPN-Maoist is a political party with significance and the force.

A round table conference alone could recognize the CPN-Maoist a party. Leaders of the CPN-Maoist have been demanding a round table conference of all political parties represented in the dissolved CA. Recently they have proposed to hold a round table conference of all political parties registered at the Election Commission. However, the CPN-Maoist is not registered at the Election Commission, yet. The Election Commission is willing to open the registration of political parties at its office for the election purpose. The CPN-Maoist is not officially a political party, yet.

If they could force the government and other major political parties to hold a round table conference means the leaders of the CPN-Maoist could sit as equals to all other political leaders at a round table conference. That is why a round able conference is so important to the CPN-Maoist leaders. As they had no chance of getting their party recognized as a political party by other means, they have been sticking to a round table conference. So, they have been pressing the four-party political mechanism, and the government talks team to hold a round table conference at the talks held with both the parties in recent days.

Leaders of the CPN-Maoist know that forming an all-party government is next to impossible but still they want it. They have been sticking to this demand to demonstrate that they are the force to count in. Again if they can participate in such a government means their party is a recognized political force.

Even if the four-party political mechanism, and the government agree on holding a round table conference, the possibility of forming an all-party government is almost nil. Every leader of political parties wants to be the head of a government. None accepts the leader of another party as the head of a government. Even within all the political parties, every senior leader fights for the position of a prime minister. In this circumstances, an all-party government as demanded by the CPN-Maoist leaders is not a reality.

The government talks team and the team of the 33-party front led by Secretary to CPN-Maoist Dev Gurung have been optimistic about their talks ending in positive. The government team must have given the opposition team of the 33-party front the assurance of holding a roundtable conference.

Leaders of the four-party political mechanism are willing to hold a round table conference. At the meeting with the CPN-Maoist leaders held in Kathmandu on August 22, 2013, leaders of the four-party political mechanism including the Federal Democratic Front have agreed on a round table conference or an all-party meeting but they are not for changing the election date and the current government.

‘Compromise is the art of winning over the opponent’ wrote Jawaharlal Nehru in his autobiography. If it is the fact, then our leaders of both the four-party political mechanism, and the 33-party opposition front have not learnt this art, as the leaders of the four-party political mechanism continued to stick to their stand on holding the elections to a new CA even without the participation of the CPN-Maoist, and the CPN-Maoist leaders continued to stick on their stand on not participating in the elections without a round table conference. Then, the victim of the political leaders illiterate in the art of winning over the opponent will surely be the elections to a new CA.

The four-party political mechanism and the government can hold a round table conference of all political parties represented in the dissolved CA but the CPN-Maoist might not be legitimately able to participate in it. The fact is the CPN-Maoist is not represented in the dissolved CA. The CPN-Maoist was split-away from the UCPN-Maoist long time after the CA was dissolved. For the representation in the CA, the chairman of the CA had to accept the formation of a new political party. Leaders of the CPN-Maoist had no chance to do so. Consequently, the CPN-Maoist was not represented in the dissolved CA following the rules.

However, leaders of the CPN-Maoist have been living in the imaginary thinking of their party CPN-Maoist represented in the dissolved CA. Unfortunately, it is not represented in the dissolved CA. The UCPN-Maoist would claim the representation of all the Maoist party at a round table conference of the political parties represented in the dissolved CA if any round table conference were held in the future. So, a round table conference will keep the CPN-Maoist out of the conference, and the idea of the Maoist leaders getting the CPN-Maoist recognized as a political party will not be realized.

Indian leaders still consider the CPN-Maoist led by Mohan Vaidhya and the CPN-Maoist led by Matrika Yadav as the parties that have not quit the violence for achieving their goals. In other words these parties are still on the watch list of the terrorist parties. So, Indian leaders have been keeping an eye on these parties.

The CPN-Maoist has decided to continue the dialogue with the four-party political mechanism, and the government, and at the same time oppose the elections. Maoist leaders have been not sure how far they would be able to achieve their goal holding talks with the four-party political mechanism, and the government, as the government has some limitations, and the four-party political mechanism is not for changing the election date and the government, too. So, they want to put up resistance to holding elections, too.

CPN-Maoist leaders have not decided what sorts of resistance they would put up against the elections. Previously, some leaders had casually said that they would take up even arms if needed be. Recently, they have toned down what they had said in the past. However, they are still for stopping the elections. But how, they have not clearly stated, and not decided, yet.

One thing they have to understand is the international community is not for political instability in Nepal. Both the northern and southern neighbors are not for conflict in Nepal, as the conflict in Nepal would create an environment conducive to the anti-Indian and anti-Chinese elements passing through Nepal. Both the countries want a strong and able government in Nepal to handle the international terrorists passing through Nepal. So, Chairman Vaidhya would not have support from his Chinese political gurus, and Indians would surely oppose whatever conflict the CPN-Maoist might create in Nepal.

Nepalis would not support anybody for a guerrilla or a people’s liberation war whatever the CPN-Maoist might call it. Nepalis would not feed the CPN-Maoist cadres as they did in the past by coercion or voluntarily. Common folks have had enough burden of the people’s liberation war, and they would not shoulder any burden of any kind of war in the future.

Street protests without causing any disturbances and inconveniences to the common folks might be the option but shutdown of the entire country would be next to impossible for achieving the goals of the CPN-Maoist. Nepalis would not tolerate any shutdowns.

The best option for the CPN-Maoist is to go back to its mother party UCPN-Maoist. They can make a difference together with other leaders of the UCPN-Maoist in the Nepalese politics otherwise the CPN-Maoist will fade into oblivion as the Matrika Yadav’s Maoist party does.

August 23, 2013