Contradiction in Nepalese Politics

By Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

On Sunday late evening, November 04, 2007, the special session of the Interim Legislature passed the two resolutions: 1) declaring Nepal a federal democratic republic and 2) an electoral system for the proportional representation of all Nepalis in a CA. The so-called constitutional experts and some Nepali Congress (NC) leaders said that the passage of the two resolutions has no constitutional validity. However, the Maoists’ leaders and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML), Madhav Kumar Nepal have been stressing on the need for implementing these resolutions immediately.

NC leader and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, Ram Chandra Poudel said that the Government of Nepal headed by NC President Girija Prasad Koirala would not implement the resolutions passed by the Interim legislature. NC political scientist and professor of the Tribhuvan University, Lok Raj Baral said that if anybody was against implementing the Resolutions passed by the legislature meant s/he was irresponsible to the legislature. Then, the question was how the responsible NC Minister could say such things in public.

The understanding reached between the NC and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) has been in crisis after both the parties refusing to budge even an inch from the stand on declaring Nepal republic and adopting an electoral system that would ensure the proportional representation of all Nepalis in a constituent assembly (CA) that would be elected for crafting a new constitution of Nepal. However, they thought that the voting on these two resolutions in the special session of the Interim legislature would break up the political impasse but the passage of the two resolutions by the Interim legislature has made the political situation more complicated than had been in the past.

The NC was not for declaring Nepal a republic by the Interim Constitution and not for the representation of all Nepalis in a CA proportional to their population whereas the CPN-Maoist was for declaring Nepal a republic immediately to stop the regressive forces headed by the suspended king from disrupting the election for a CA, and for adopting the proportional representation in a CA.

The NC leaders’ main contention had been that declaring Nepal a Republic by the Interim Legislature would not be possible because of the procedural difficulties. However, they did not find it a procedural difficulty to admit 83 Maoists to the 330-memebr Interim Legislature. From where they got the rights to include the Maoists in the Interim Legislature if it was not the people’s mandate given by their movement in April 2006? At the same time they said that ninety percent of Nepalis were for declaring Nepal a republic. Former Prime Minister and NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba said that Nepal would be a republic next day of the election for a CA.

Civil Society leader and Human Rights Activist, Krishna Pahadi questioned if the NC leaders were for republic and they knew that ninety percent of Nepalis wanted Nepal to be a republic then what held the NC leaders up to declare Nepal a republic.

Some other political analysts thought that the NC leaders were not to be trusted, as the NC legislators had already voted against the resolution of republic in the Interim legislature despite the NC was for declaring Nepal a republic, and the NC leaders saying publicly that they were for republic. Probably, the NC leaders would go to the people with the agenda of making Nepal a republic for campaigning for the election for a CA, and secure majority seats in the CA. Then, they might again vote against declaring Nepal a republic on any pretext they could think of.

Concerning the proportional representation of all Nepalis in a CA, the NC leaders such as Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel argued that adopting such a system for the election for a CA would invite disintegration of Nepal in the ethnic lines, and would deprive the personal rights. They did not say how they would guarantee personal rights and save the country from disintegration adopting the mixed-electoral system that was for electing candidates of the political parties and for voting for the political parties that would elect their own candidates proportional to the votes they received against the threat of the ethnic and Madheshi Nepalis of declaring their areas as independent states if their demands for proportional representation in a CA were not met.

It was clear that the ethnic and Madheshi Nepalis were not prepared to accept the constitution drafted and passed by the representatives of the political parties only. They wanted the representatives of all Nepalis to draft and passed a new constitution of Nepal. So, they were determined to fight against the political parties that had been for the constitution assembly that would be elected following the mixed-electoral system. They would rather opt to fight to the finish rather than accepting the domination of the political parties, as they had already had enough of living under the domination of the Shah dynasty.

The NC leaders have been charging the CPN-Maoist with prolonging the life of the suspended king bringing up the issues of declaring Nepal a republic before the election for a CA and of adopting an electoral system for proportional representation of all Nepalis in a CA consequently delaying the election for a CA that would have ended the monarchy. The CPN-Maoist in turn accused the NC leaders of doing everything possible for saving the monarchy. However, the conflict between these two parties had certainly extended the life of the suspended king. Both these political parties betrayed the Nepalese people’s trust in them for declaring Nepal a republic and for adopting an electoral system for proportional representation of all Nepalis in a CA. Nepalese people wanted drastic changes in the system of governance and in the leaders, too however, nothing had happened to this end.

The CPN-Maoist leaders have been telling the public that the CPN-Maoist has been in the verge of breaking off the alliance with the SPA. They said that there was no reasons for continuing the alliance with the SPA if the SPA legislators voted against the resolutions the CPN-Maoist had submitted in the Interim Legislature demanding the declaration of Nepal a republic and the adoption of an electoral system for proportional representation. At the same time the top Maoists’ leaders have been emphasizing the need for the continuity of the unity of the SPA.

Civil society leaders said that it was the Nepalese people’s mandate to reach the understanding between the SPA and the CPN-Maoist and then bring drastic changes in governance including the declaration of Nepal a republic and the proportional representation of all Nepalis in the governance; then only Nepalese people came out en masses in April 2006 to finish off the monarchy. So, they should continue to work together for bringing down the suspended monarchy and for declaring Nepal a republic. However, the activities of the NC leaders and the CPN-Maoist showed that they have been acting against each other benefiting the suspended monarchy.

On October 31, 2007, while the interim legislators were arguing for and against the resolutions demanding the declaration of Nepal a republic and the adoption of proportional representation in a CA in the Interim Legislature, Indian Ambassador Shiva Shanker Mukherjee met with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the Baluwatar official residence of the Prime Minister in the afternoon and then the CPN-Maoist leaders Prachanda and Dr. Baburam Bhattarai went to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to meet with the ambassador in the late afternoon.

As both the foreign diplomats and the Nepalese leaders have no culture of telling the Nepalese people why they met with each other, what they talked to each other and what they decided; Nepalese people were left to guess the reasons for meeting between the Nepalese leaders and the Indian diplomat. Probably, the meeting was for discussing the possible ways and means of ending the political deadlock reached between the CPN-Maoist and the NC.

The CPN-Maoist leaders had been quite shameless to go to a foreign embassy and met with the foreign diplomat for resolving the Nepalese political issues. They should rather go to the Nepalese people to resolve the national issues not to the foreign diplomat. The clear mandate the Nepalese people had given the SPA and the CPN-Maoist was to declare Nepal a republic and have proportional representation of all Nepalis in the governance and in a CA.

Some Nepalese political leaders particularly the chairman of Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (NWPP), Narayan Man Bijukchhe have been telling the Nepalese people that the Indian government has been meddling in the affairs of the Nepalese people. The meeting between the Nepalese Prime Minister and the India ambassador, and then between the Indian ambassador and the CPN-Maoist leaders clearly supported the contention of Mr. Bijukchhe.

The first point of the 12-point Understanding reached between the SPA and the CPN-Maoist says, “We have a clear opinion that the peace, progress and prosperity in the country is not possible until and full democracy is established by bringing the absolute monarchy to an end.” Thus, both the parties had committed to end the monarchy for the peace, progress and prosperity. So, any party refusing to end the monarchy means breaching the 12-point understanding reached between the SPA and the CPN-Maoist as well as the people’s mandate.

The third point of the 12-point Understanding says, “We are, therefore, firmly committed to establish a permanent peace by bringing the existing armed conflict in the country to an end through a forward-looking political outlet of the establishment of the full democracy by ending the autocratic monarchy and holding an election for the constituent assembly that would come on the basis of aforesaid procedure.” The third point of the 12-point understanding repeated the commitment to ending the monarchy and to holding an election for a CA.

Any party refusing to follow the Nepalese people’s mandate and refusing to keep its commitment made in the 12-point understanding reached between the SPA and the CPN-Maoist is certainly the betrayal of people’s trust in it.

On Sunday late evening, November 04, 2007, the special session of the Interim Legislature passed the two resolutions: 1) declaring Nepal a federal democratic republic and 2) an electoral system for the proportional representation of all Nepalis in a CA. The CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist legislators voted for the first resolution whereas the NC legislators voted against the resolution. The CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) legislators voted for the second resolution whereas the NC legislators voted against it. Thus, The Interim legislature passed the two resolutions by a simple majority.

The SPA and the CPN-Maoist leaders had spent 25 days on finding the consensus on the two resolutions. They did not disclose to the public what they had discussed, what they had agreed and what they had not agreed. They spent lot of their resources and the national resources for discussing the things that had not been fruitful.

Ultimately, they passed the two resolutions that have no constitutional validity, as the so-called constitutional experts say that the Interim Constitution has to be amended before implementing these resolutions. However, every layman believes that the legislature is the supreme body of the nation; once it passes any resolution means it has the constitutional validity.