Political Checks and Balances

Arduous trek to democratic republic

Yuba Nath Lamsal

With the advent of 21^st century, democracy has become a global lingua franca. In this modern and civilized era, there is no political alternative to democracy. Even a notorious dictators talk loud about democracy and democratic principles, although they may be ruling with iron fists denying the people with their civil and political rights which are the basic foundation of democracy. Democracy and civilization have, thus, become synonymous in the present world.

Democracy is a universally accepted political system in which people’s representatives govern for the interest of the people. This is why democracy is called a ‘government of the people, for the people and by the people’. The democratic government is the people’s government which governs on behalf of the people and takes care of the interest of the people. In other words, democracy is a people’s polity.

In every political ideology and philosophy, the word democracy has occupied special and important space. They talk of democracy, people’s rights and welfare. But rarely have such commitments been practically translated into action. This is not the case of any particular regime or country but this is a universal phenomenon. Democracy is not merely a word to extol but this is the system, culture and way of life that has to be translated into action and every-day life.

There is a variance in the definition of democracy across the world. The western definition of democracy varies from that of the oriental definition of democracy. Similarly, definition of democracy in the capitalist countries is different from that of the socialist and communist countries.  This difference is because of ideological and perceptional divergence mainly between the two dominant political ideologies in the contemporary world namely the capitalist philosophy and communist (Marxist) ideology.

Even in countries and societies with similar ideological orientation, there is clash of definition of democracy. Western capitalist democracy and values lay more emphasis on individual freedom and civil and political rights, whereas oriental democracy or eastern values accord more priority to community rights, social, economic and cultural rights. While individual liberty is the hallmark of western democracy, right to life that includes food, shelter and clothes and freedom from want occupy prominent place in oriental concept.

Similarly, the Marxists, socialists and communists, too, emphasize more on the right to life, right to education, right to employment and right to development than civil and political rights. Karl Marx is the founder of the philosophy that prophesizes ‘to each according to his/her needs and from each according to his/her ability’. This implies that each and every child has the right to education and other amenities required for healthy growth. An adult has the right to employment based on his/her qualification, skill and ability. The opportunity of employment enables a person to assert and exercise his/her basic rights.

The western capitalist countries and systems, too, borrowed the idea of right to employment after communist philosophy was put into practice in several countries of Europe and Asia. The concept of unemployment allowance was borrowed from the communist/socialist countries. In communism and socialism, there is no private property and all properties including land, farms and factories belong to the state. It is the responsibility of the state to provide employment to all its able citizens. In the capitalist system, state does not interfere in the economy and private property. Private sector plays key role in economy in capitalist country. Since the state cannot intervene in private property, factories and farms, the government cannot guarantee jobs to all its citizens. Instead, the government provides unemployment allowance to those who are out of job.

There are accusations and counter accusations between the capitalist and communist regimes regarding the definition of democracy. The capitalists call the communism as anti-democratic and authoritarian system in which people are denied with the right to participate in the political system and governance. According to capitalists, free and fair elections are the yardstick of people’s participation and freedom of political choice. People’s participation in the election also ensures popular participation in the governance. However, communists and socialists differ on this argument. They are of the view that election alone is not the metric of democracy and people’s participation in the governance. To ensure people’s participation in the governance, the people, according to the Marxists, need to be made able to duly participate in the political process, for which people need to be economically empowered and properly educated.  

While we are observing the Republic Day with both cheers and gloom, a great debate is going on in Nepal’s political and academic circle on many issues concerning constitution, federalism, model of governance, among others. The debate is not whether we should adopt or discard democracy. The debate is on what should be the suitable form of democracy in Nepal. Although the Constituent Assembly is dominated by communists with almost 62 per cent members belonging to different communist faction, there has been tentative agreement on the western capitalist type of democracy. Despite communists having majority in the Constituent Assembly, they are not demanding the communist type of system. However, they are divided whether the country should adopt the Westminster type of democracy which is in practice in the United Kingdom or presidential type which is in vogue in the United States of America.

We are currently in the process of completing the constitution writing, which would not only formalize and institutionalize the achievements of 2006 popular movement or Jana Andolan II. The most important achievement is the declaration of Nepal as a democratic republic. The monarchy was abolished and republican set up ushered in four years ago and we commemorate this day every year as the Republic Day. This day is important for all of us who long for democracy because republican system alone guarantees genuine democracy. It is in the republican set up alone people can become real masters of their own destiny. When the republic was declared, it ushered in a new era or people’s era in Nepal’s political history. Although we have democratic republic, our journey to total democracy is not complete. We are in the process of completing this task, which can be accomplished only when a new constitution written by the people’s representatives is promulgated. It is against this backdrop, all political parties, their leaders and all Nepalese people need to contribute seriously for completing the constitution writing and the peace process at the earliest. This should be the spirit of the commemorating the Republic Day 2012.