Promote Culture Of Unity

Yuba Nath Lamsal

It seems as though Nepal’s troubled politics has taken a new turn especially after the government registered a bill in the Legislature-Parliament seeking amendment to the constitution of Nepal. The amendment to the constitution became necessary to accommodate some of the demands of the Madhesis and janajatis thereby settling the ongoing political imbroglio in the country, facilitating the meaningful implementation of the constitution and finally completing the political course and the peace process initiated almost a decade ago.

Protests

Immediately after the government registered the bill in parliament, protests led by the CPN-UML, the main opposition party, and supported by other fringe parties began both in the streets and the parliament.  The CPN-UML-led opposition parties have continued to block the meetings and other procedures in the parliament and at the same time they have launched street protests of various kinds mainly in districts of Province No 5. The bone of contention is the proposal that seeks to change the demarcation of the Province No 5.

But the bill is merely a proposal, which is now the parliament’s property and can be passed, modified, changed and even rejected by two-thirds majority in the parliament. The bill is not a final document but registered for discussion and decision in the House. Unfortunately, the parliament’s meeting has been continuously obstructed, which has prevented the parliamentarians from debating the pros and cons of the proposed bill.

It is neither intended to defend the bill nor to criticise it. The bill may have both merits and demerits. The parliamentarians and the political parties have their right to express their views and vote for or against the bill. This is constitutional and democratic norm and rights of the House and its members. But the fundamental question is that the parliament must be allowed to debate and decide on it.

In a democracy, persons and parties have their own views and position on different issues. In a pluralist society and system, one cannot expect all to have similar views. The political parties and people differ on issues but they finally reach a conclusion through compromise. Conflict and compromise are the beauty of democracy. On the proposed bill too, the parties may have differences, but this should be discussed in the parliament, the supreme body of the people’s representatives. The parliament is sovereign to change, modify, pass and even reject the bill. This can be done only when the House is allowed to start a debate on the bill.

The CPN-UML is a democratic party, which has strong faith in the country’s constitution, parliament and parliamentary procedures. It does not bode well for a democratic party like the CPN-UML to obstruct the parliamentary procedures for such a long time when several important bills are pending. The government has already registered some bills concerning the local and other elections. If these bills are not passed, local elections may not be held in April-May 2017. If the elections are not held by May next year, the election for local bodies may not be held perhaps until April 2018.  It is because monsoon begins in June and will last until September and elections are not possible during monsoon. After the monsoon season is over, festival season will start. Moreover, parliamentary election must be held by mid January as the tenure of the present parliament will expire in January next year. If the elections for the local bodies are not held in April-May, we may have to wait for the local election till 2018 probably only after the parliamentary elections.

If the local election is to be held in April-May next year, a new compromise must be reached among the key political parties. We have the parliament and elected people’s representatives, who should be allowed to decide what political course and what political step should be taken to find an amicable solution to the problem. Our parliament and parliamentarians are competent enough to take the right decision for the larger interest of the country. Now we have some burning issues at hand which must be settled before we go to election. If the parliament meetings continue to be obstructed, this will only give ground to the unparliamentarily and undemocratic elements to reap benefit and defame the democratic polity. Now we are running short of time to announce the local election. Thus, the parliament should be allowed to function so that all the necessary bills are enacted to facilitate the local election in April-May 2017 and paving the way for timely election for the provincial and federal parliaments.

At the same time, the bill that has been registered seeking amendment to the constitution should also be settled because the environment for election may not be created without bringing the disgruntled Madhesi and janajati parties on board. The Madhesis and Janajatis are demanding amendment to the constitution to accommodate their genuine demands for the successful implementation of the constitution and holding the elections. Thus, the bill concerning the constitution amendment which is in the parliament must be settled.

Moreover, the Election Commission has made its position and views clear in public that it will need at least 120 days (four months) for election preparations. This means the election dates need to be announced by December if the election is to be held in April, 2017. But still much needs to be done before announcing the election dates. First the issues raised by Madhesis and janajatis need to be addressed for which the constitution amendment bill must be settled. The second task will be to finalise the restructuring of the local bodies. The third task will be to enact all necessary laws concerning the election. Only then election dates can be announced. Thus, the first and the foremost task at present is to end the obstruction in the parliament.

Now the issue is not which party will win or which party will lose. It is the nation that should be the ultimate winner. The country will win only when the constitution is successfully implemented, achievements of the April Uprising 2006 are institutionalised and peace process is completed. If not, the nation will be the loser. When the country loses, we all will be losers because we are on the same boat. We all will perish if the boat sinks no matter whichever party we belong to. Now our efforts should be oriented towards the direction that makes peace, stability and prosperity possible leaving behind our personal and partisan interests.

Final phase

We are in the final phase of completing the political and peace process initiated to end the decade-long armed insurgency. If this process fails, the country and people will have to pay a huge price. Thus, this process must be successful for which a collective initiative of all political actors is a must. The country has suffered heavily due to the politics of conflict and protest. This culture of protest must be put to an end and begin afresh one to herald a new era of unity and collectiveness among the political parties for at least one more decade so as to ensure peace, stability and prosperity. For this, our parties should rise above their partisan agenda and give a little thought to the broader interest and agenda of the country. If we take the interest of the nation above our personal and partisan agenda, solution can easily be found.