All such gains notwithstanding, political party leaders have not been able to internalize these changes. The manner in which the politicians are displaying the same old habits and behaviors in the making and breaking of governments on grounds devoid of any principle is undermining all their important achievements. Efforts are now concentrated on making the government with the induction of their own favorites or relatives who, sadly, do not have popular mandate. As a consequence, the new government headed by Madhav Kumar Nepal has not been able to take shape even after three weeks of the swearing-in of the prime minister. The PM and other candidates who were defeated in the CA election are now the representatives of major parties. It has therefore lost its legitimacy. Other activities reminiscent of the 1990s have further led to popular despair.
Despite the tremendous rise of political consciousness of the Nepali people, immaturity of party leaders has failed to make us confident of democratic evolution.
So the prospects of constitutional evolution and durable political order are dim at least at the present juncture. Its reasons are many but a few of them can be presented briefly. First, a liberal democratic party like the NC is likely to fade into political oblivion due to ideological ambiguity, personal and strategic reasons; other parties too do not seem to have a bright future. Prospects for constitutional evolution are also bleak as the Maoist leaders are dithering on pursuing the path of competitive liberal system.
As democracy can survive only in a culture of tolerance, the befitting agendas should be initiated by the new generation of leaders committed to democratic principles. So far, most political parties are losing the ground because of myopic and self-centered leaders, Kathmandu-centric politics and organizational disorder. The parties borne out of short-lived sentiments are always prone to trends of instability. More so, if such parties are formed as a conglomerate of defectors and power brokers who swing from one end to the other in search of immediate pasture. The manner in which the new parties are split on highly personal grounds suggests that we have parties but not a party system. Even parties like the NC and CPN-UML having enough experience fall into this category.
Second, organizational disorder makes democracy more vulnerable to political instability. Without a minimum level of organizational solidarity, the new democracy cannot cope with challenges brought to the fore by both national and international developments. It is useless to talk about prime ministerial or presidential system at a time when the head of the government cannot form his government, let alone assert his civilian supremacy in governance.
Third, one of the flaws of the interim constitution is that both the PM and the president are elected by the same House with simple majority. Although the spirit is to make the elected PM strong, such spirit does not work in Nepal as each would want to be assertive and powerful as it happened in the recent past when President Ram Baran Yadav sent a letter to the army chief directly, bypassing the channel of PM. Even the PM who was “encircled by his political opponents” took the decision to sack the army chief without the backing of coalition partners contrary to the spirit of sahamati (consensus) as enshrined in the interim constitution.
Fourth, the major parties became hostile to the Maoists after the CA election. All the Maoists’ competitors started fearing their existence against the backdrop of the rise of Maoists through legitimate ballot politics. Ironically, most alliance partners in the government turned bitter critics in denigrating the Maoist motives and activities like the non-UML parties did to the Man Mohan Adhikary government in 1995. The context is different but the fear psyche that the Maoists would take advantage while in government prompted each alliance partner and the NC to dislodge the government last month. Until this psychology persists, it is impossible to move ahead.
Finally, the international actors, especially India, US and other Western powers fueled the crisis by adopting more interventionist attitude towards the Maoists. It came to the open during the row between the army chief and the Maoist leaders. These powers provided grist to the anti-Maoist parties to be assertive on the issue of the dismissal of the NA chief. Now peace, which is so much interlinked to constitutional development, is in jeopardy. Its correction is possible only when all the parties realize that they have to work together by outlining a minimum common program.
Despite the tremendous rise of political consciousness of the Nepali people, immaturity of party leaders has failed to make us confident of democratic evolution. Writing the constitution and enforcing it alone would not produce political order and stability, nor can holding elections and intermittent movements lead us to a bright future. Nevertheless, the great people of this beautiful country are the only hope for both democracy and overall development of the country.
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