Power, The Only Priority Of The Parties

Yuba Nath Lamsal

Once again the political parties are busy in a exercise at forming anational unity government with the representation of all the political forces in the country. However, such a consensus-based government is mere wishful thinking because the parties are unwilling to give up their stance and arrogance on several key issues impacting the ongoing political process. The rhetoric to form a national consensus government appears to be guided more by their interest in grabbing power than giving the country an honourable and dignified outlet.

Given the power equation in the Constituent Assembly, which is the only democratically elected institution in the country, there is no alternative to consensus and a national unity government if the political and peace process is to be concluded. The parties have already failed to live up to the people’s expectation that they would deliver a constitution within two years of the Constituent Assembly election. They failed not once but twice. They are going to fail once again in two weeks.

CA extension

Last year, the life of the Constituent Assembly was extended by one year as the tasks concerning constitution drafting could not be completed for various reasons. However, the job could not be completed even within the extended time of one year, compelling the parties to give it one more extension.

There had been much ruckus and mind boggling exercises prior to the extension of the Constituent Assembly (CA) term. The parties in the opposition bench had stood against the extension of the CA’s tenure. However, the life of the CA was extended following promises to pave the way for the formation of a consensus government. In both extensions, similar tactics and tricks were applied for the extension of the CA term, although the actors were different.

When the CA term was extended the first time, there was a coalition government of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and some Madhesi parties whereas the Maoists were in the opposition. At that time, the Congress, Madhesi parties and the CPN-UML advocated for the extension of the CA’s term while the Maoists were reluctant to do so. But the inner intention of all the parties was to go for the extension of the CA’s life because no CA member was willing to sacrifice his or her perks and position.

A carefully worded gentlemen’s accord stipulated that Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal would resign to pave the way for the formation of a national unity government. This provision was interpreted differently by different parties. The Maoists claimed that the spirit of the accord was the resignation of the prime minister to make way for a consensus and national unity government.

But the other parties rejected this interpretation and maintained that the prime minister would resign only when there was credible ground for national consensus. But Prime Minister Nepal resigned under pressure from the opposition party, although he was reluctant to do so in the beginning.

During the second extension, the nature of the coalition government was identical but the partners were different. The coalition has two principal partners with the rest backing it. In the present coalition government, the UCPN-Maoist is the dominant constituent and has a major say. The CPN-UML is in the driving seat of the cabinet, but its role is not a leading one.

During the second extension of the CA’s term, the Nepali Congress and some Madhesi parties were vehemently opposed to the idea. But they finally agreed to extend the CA’s tenure by three months, for which another gentleman’s agreement was reached among the three major parties. The power-sharing formula was once again the dominant agenda during the dialogue for the CA’s extension.

The job of the Constituent Assembly is to write the constitution, but the entire exercise of the parties and their talks have been focussed on power sharing. This has delayed the peace process and prolonged the political crisis in the country.

The job of the government is to run the daily administration of the country. In the present context, the government’s role is to facilitate the ongoing peace and constitution-writing process. It has little role in writing the constitution. So power sharing and the issue concerning who should lead the government are the two prominent agendas of the parties.

The term of the Constituent Assembly is expiring in two weeks. When the CA term was extended the last time for three months, it was agreed that the initial draft of the constitution would be ready by August 13, which would provide the basis for the extension of the CA’s term for another three months.

But the contentious issues have yet to be resolved. Unless these issues are settled amicably, the constitution writing process cannot go ahead. The management of the Maoist combatants is one of the key issues that must be settled first.

Although the parties had agreed to come up with a suitable model for the management of the Maoist combatants and their numbers to be taken into the security organs by August 13, they have so far failed to agree on any model and their number. The developments do not suggest that these tasks will be accomplished within the given time.

Now the incumbent prime minister is in the mood of stepping down soon, possibly by August 13. Even the coalition partners and the prime minister’s close aides have hinted at Khanal’s resignation. All the major parties are thus claiming leadership of the next government.

The Maoist party has already proposed Vice-chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai as its candidate for the national unity government to be formed. Being the largest party, the claim of the UCPN-Maoist is justifiable. In the same way, the Nepali Congress, too, has staked its claim for the premiership, for which two senior leaders - Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel - are vying. The claim of the Nepali Congress - the second largest party - is based on its logic that the UCPN-Maoist and the CPN-UML failed to lead the government in the past and complete the peace process.

A section of the CPN-UML, which is opposed to Chairman Khanal, seems to be comfortable with the leadership of the Nepali Congress in the next government. Only the Khanal faction is unwilling to forge a coalition with the Nepali Congress, instead, it favours the Maoists to work with. In this way, the CPN-UML seems to be divided.

Given the recent developments and equation in the CPN-UML, the balance is likely to go in favour of the anti-Khanal faction. But some CPN-UML leaders are trying to reap benefit once again from the rivalry between the Maoists and the Nepali Congress. Khanal wants to give the present government the shape of a national unity government for which it is seeking support of the Congress and the Madhesi parties. The KP Oli faction wants to resume the leadership of the CPN-UML by overthrowing Khanal.

Thus, the entire political and peace process of Nepal has hinged on the nature and leadership of the government. Past experiences have clearly shown that a majority government cannot serve the purpose and resolve the crisis. Against such a background, the efforts to form a majority government would be a futile exercise.

Only way out

Thus the parties, if they want to address the political crisis and conclude the peace process, must arrive at a common point and work collectively at least for some time until the constitution is promulgated. This is the only way out for the present. The parties need to give up their arrogance and partisan interests and be prepared to work for the overall interest of the country