CJ-led Government-39

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

NC and CPN-UML emerged as the major political parties after the elections to a new CA held on November 19, 2013 but none of them was closer to the majority but together very close to the two-thirds majority have held a consultative meeting on December 7, 2013, and made a three-point agreement not made public, yet. Leaders of NC and CPN-UML have been saying that their strategy of crafting a new constitution would be first to build a consensus on the disputed issue, if not, then to pass the issues by the two-thirds majority, if it were not possible then go to the people calling a referendum on the disputed issues in other words a third election. CPN-UML leaders have been demanding the elections to a new president, vice-president, prime minister and chairman of CA building a consensus on power sharing. However, the Maoists and Madhesis have been saying that their agenda of federalism and identity-based federal states have not been defeated.

The four-party political mechanism has reduced to the two-party understanding after the elections held on November 19, 2013. NC and CPN-UML emerged as a two major political parties in a new CA but none of them has a majority but together they could claim to have the two-thirds majority if they could garner another more than thirty votes in the new CA from among the like-minded political parties. They could easily do so, as the like-minded political parties have won enough seats to meet the criteria of the two-thirds majority in the 601-mmebr CA. So, some of the NC and CPN-UML leaders did not see it necessary to go back to the four-party mechanism believing NC and CPN-UML leaders believed that they could bully the Maoists and Madhesis standing on the sound foundation of the newly won elections.

If the NC and CPN-UML leaders possessed the capacity for a little bit of logical thinking not to mention the capacity of the recently deceased South African leader Nelson Mandela that had successfully brought together the two bitter enemies of the past apartheid regime, they would certainly bring on board the Maoists and Madhesis, they would talk of the four-party alliance rather than the two-party alliance. The path of the four-party alliance would be smooth to craft a new constitution. People could anticipate a new constitution to be crafted within a year. However, the current extravagant behavior of the NC and CPN-UML leaders, and their boasting of the election victory have put the people in doubt about their capacity for crafting a new constitution. And, people started off thinking whether the leaders of the emerging major political parties have already sowed the seeds of a third election to a new CA or a referendum on the disputed issues.

NC and CPN-UML leaders held a consultative meeting on December 7, 2013. They came out with the so-called three-point agreement but they have not made it public, yet. However, they have just agreed on not being fussy about discussing the issues of electing a new president and vice-president in public. After the meeting Vice-president of NC Ram Chandra Poudel said that they agreed on cooling down the public discussions about disputed matters but they had not discussed the elections to a new president and vice-president. General Secretary of CPN-UML Iswor Pokharel said that the two parties agreed on going together building a consensus on the disputed matters, as they have been mandated to work together, so, they agreed on doing so.

Speaking to the anchor of the Radio Nepal morning program called ‘antar sambad’ on December 8, 2013, General Secretary of CPN-UML Iswor Pokharel said that elections to a new president and vice-president should be held following the democratic principles and values. In other words he was not willing to accept the current President Dr Ram Baran Yadav that did not defend the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007, rather trampled it, and that had been the major stumbling block to crafting a new constitution, that had acted more like the cadre of the NC rather than a president of the country. Similarly, General Secretary Pokharel also was not accepting the vice-president that had been elected to the office as the quota for the Madhesis. General Secretary Pokharel evaded the question put up by the anchor of the Radio Nepal, “What he should say about the media have been saying that the CPN-UML wanted its person to be a president.”

Speaking to the anchor of the Radio Nepal, General Secretary Pokharel also said that the strategy of his party to craft a new constitution was to 1) build a consensus on the disputed issues if possible if not 2) to pass those issues by the two-thirds majority, if not passed, then 3) to hold a referendum on those issues. The strategy was clearly of bullying the Maoists and Madhesis, and to postpone the crafting of a new constitution for an indefinite period, as holding a referendum on the disputed issues would take time none could guess now. Until then, the NC and CPN-UML had the state treasury in their hands. They could dirty their hands pulling out banknotes from the state treasury as much as they wanted as they did in the past.

The demand put forward by the CPN-UML leaders for electing a new president and vice-president might be the bargaining chip for minister portfolios. Some of the NC leaders have publicly said that they would not allow the portfolios of the Home Ministry and the Finance Ministry to any other political parties. So, the CPN-UML leaders have to extract major concession from the NC to get some significant portfolios in the future cabinet. Another reason for the CPN-UML demanding the elections to a new president and a vice-president might be that they wanted to see one of their people sat on the office of president, as the leaders of CPN-UML knew that the president had played a major role in the past in making the Maoists and Madhesis failure, and in forcing them to give in to the demands of the NC and CPN-UML ultimately making them failure in the elections to a new CA, too.

The Maoists and the Madhesis emptied everything from their arsenal except for the irregularities in the elections apparently they had seen after their defeat in the elections. However, they made it clear that they were not for giving in their agenda of identity-based federalism, constitution with federalism, and Madhesis’ rights. Currently, nothing left in their arsenal for the Maoists and the Madhesis to strike the NC and the CPN-UML. However, if they were to patiently wait for building up their arsenal the NC and the CPN-UML would soon create plenty of weapons for them to strike the NC and CPN-UML. Not taking on board the Maoists and Madhesis, the NC and CPN-UML have already started off creating some weapons for the Maoists and Madhesis.

If President of NC Sushil Koirala were to possess a tiny piece of qualities of Nelson Mandela, President Koirala would play the role of a midwife that would give birth to a new constitution from the womb of all political parties rather than from the two-thirds majority of the NC, CPN-UML and their allies. In addition, President of NC Koirala needed to live with the commitments his party had made to the public in the election manifesto. Up until now, Koirala had shown no leadership to meet the commitment made to the people in the NC election manifesto except for calling on Chairman of CPN-UML, and holding a meeting with the CPN-UML leaders and making a three-point agreement that had not been made public.

Leaders of NC and CPN-UML separately went to see chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda at his Lazimpat residence on December 8, 2013. Leaders of the UCPN-Maoist demanded to set up a high-level commission on investigation into the flaws in the elections but the leaders of NC and CPN-UML urged the UCPN-Maoist leaders to discuss all those matters come in the CA. After the meetings, one of the leaders of UCPN-Maoist Narayan kaji Shrestha told the reporters that his party had started off doubting about the enforcement of the ‘twelve-point understanding’ reached between the then Seven-party Alliance and the then CPN-Maoist in November 2005, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement reached between the then government and the then CPN-Maoist in 2006, and finally the provisions made in the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007. UCPN-Maoist leaders suggested the NC and CPN-UML leaders to bring on board the CPN-Maoist and other political parties to craft a new constitution, as the crafting of a new constitution was integral part of the peace process. (Source: gorkhapatra of December 9, 2013)

The 16 political parties demanding to set up a high-level commission on investigation into the irregularities in the elections have agreed on setting up a 16-party alliance to institutionalize the identity-based federalism. At the meeting held at the Lazimpat residence of Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda on December 7, 2013, leaders of the 16 political parties urged the chairman of UPCN-Maoist to lead the alliance. At the meeting the leaders have come to the conclusion that political parties should follow the twelve-point understanding, comprehensive peace agreement and the interim constitution, and institutionalize the identity-based federalism. (Source: gorkhapatra of December 8, 2013)

Speaking at an interaction event in Kathmandu on Saturday, December 7, 2013, Vice-president of CPN-Maoist CP Gajurel said that his party would not be reunited with the UCPN-Maoist but could go together to work on a roundtable table conference if the UCPN-Maoist were to leave the CA. He also said, “(UCPN-Maoist) to take part in the elections, to run an election campaign from Mechi to Mahakali, and to say the elections have been historical, then after the counting of votes started at the midnight, to say the irregularities in the elections have been happened, is it not the character of the opportunist?” (Source: gorkhapatra of December 8, 2013)

At the central committee meeting held at the Sanepa office of the party in Kathmandu, Madhesi People’s Rights Forum-Democratic (MPRF-D) decided not to join the 16-party alliance, as its strategy of fighting for the identity-based federalism, and constitution with federalism differed from that of the alliance. MPRF-D was for participating in the CA, and fighting for the goals at the CA and on the streets but the 16-party alliance was for boycotting the CA. Chairman of MPRF-D had said that the elections to a new CA had been peaceful without irregularities. (Source: gorkhapatra of December 9, 2013)

Speaking to the anchor of the ‘antar sambad’ of the Radio Nepal morning program on December 9, 2013, one of the newly elected also the central committee member of NC Arjun Narsingh KC said that the State would tackle (with force) the 16-party alliance if they were not to follow the people’s mandate given in the elections; however, his party would try to build a consensus on all disputed matters, if not then settle them by the two-thirds majority, and even that was not possible go to the people for settling the disputed issues.

The so called high-level political mechanism without the presence of Federal Social Party that joined it later, held a meeting at the Babarmahal office of the Peace Fund on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 following the agreement leaders of the three major political parties such as NC, CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist reached at the meeting held on December 9, 2013 to hold the meeting of the high-level political meeting for the first time after the elections held on November 19, 2013. After the meeting held on December 9, 2013, Vice-president of NC Ram Chandra Poudel said that the meeting of the three major political parties was held after they felt that the political problems should be resolved through dialogue among the leaders. However, one of the leaders of CPN-UML KP Oli has said that the high-level political mechanism has nothing to do with the changed political context; the high-level political mechanism has outlived its usefulness. However, the meeting of the high-level political mechanism was held on December 11, 2013. After the meeting, Vice-president of NC Ram Chandra Poudel said that the entire elections have been flawed was not the case but certain cases of irregularities in the elections could be investigated. However, the Maoist and Madhesi leaders stuck to the demand for setting up a high-level commission on investigation into irregularities in the elections. (Source: gorkhapatra of December 11, 2013, and December 12, 2013)

Speaking to the anchor of the Radio Nepal morning program called ‘antar sambad’ on December 11, 2013, spokesman for UCPN-Maoist Agni Sapkota said that some of the leaders of the winning political parties started off telling that the Constitution of Nepal of 1990 was the best constitution and with some amendments to it, the constitution could be adopted. (Source: gorkhapatra of December 11, 2013). If that were the case then they were going to create a favorable environment for another movement for the Maoists and Madhesis.

President of NC Sushil Koirala as the leader of the major party in a new CA should be able to devise a compromise, and then build a consensus on disputed issues compromising on those issues his party had taken a stand for in the past. Thus, Koirala could pave the way for crafting a new constitution within a year or so otherwise political instability would prevail causing intolerable sufferings to the common folks.

December 13, 2013