Do you believe the scheduled November 19 election will be held on time?
The environment for polls is slowly but surely being created. But I also believe that if a large section of the people harbor suspicion about the possibility of election right up to the election date, the election might still take place, but the results will be badly influenced, undercutting the poll’s sanctity. Even after the declaration of the election date, a large section of the populace doesn’t believe there will be election. To regain their trust there has to be an honest effort to bring the political forces that are threatening to boycott elections on board.
Have there been any such ‘honest efforts’ of late?
I believe the role of the High Level Political Committee has been very limited in this regard. Of late negotiations to bring the disgruntled forces on board have intensified a bit, but there have also been attempts to try to bring only those forces on board which will enhance a particular party’s electoral prospects, while sidelining those that hamper its electoral chances.
Bhashwor Ojha/Republica
Can forces like Mohan Baidya-led Maoist party which seems to be in no mood for polls be brought around?
The day political parties and common people are convinced that a particular party is principally against election, its absence will not make much of a difference. For instance during the 1999 election, there was no chance of the then CPN (Maoist) taking part in the polls, even so the polls were successfully held. So far the Baidya-led group has put forth certain conditions; it has not rejected election outright. But if the party simply refuses to budge from its hard positions even after there are genuine attempts to bring it on board, then there is the question of moving ahead without it. But we have not reached that point yet.
What is your position on the core demands of agitating parties like resignation of the executive head as the CJ and increasing the PR component in CA?
I believe many of their demands can be fulfilled. For instance, I see nothing wrong with the idea of dissolution of the HLPC. Likewise, I don’t think we should hesitate to increase the PR component in the new CA, especially after compromising on the PR threshold, which was instrumental in the failure of the last CA. The size of the CA is unlikely to have any bearing on whether we get a constitution. So far as the argument that a 601-strong CA will be costly is concerned, it is up to the political parties to make it less costly. That can be done. The Baidya-led party in particular wants to see this government go, but at the moment the only legitimate way it can go is if there can be successful election. Hindering the November election is tantamount to trying to give continuity to this government.
But won’t this government be dissolved on November 19, whether or not there is an election on that date?
If there are no elections, the Regmi government is likely to stay put. Whole new complications will arise from that situation and the country will face a very tricky situation. But that scenario can be avoided. For that, Khil Raj Regmi should resign from the post of CJ and take the country into new election by remaining above the fray of party politics. If that happens and forces like Baidya’s are still reluctant to join the election fray, then they will be exposed. But first there has to be genuine effort to bring them on board, which has not happened so far.
The polarization between the political forces has increased since the last CA polls. What kind of election do you expect this time?
A few things will be different this time. First, during last polls, the political parties’ stands on important constitution-related issues were unclear. But after four years of constitution making exercise, people more or less know which party stands for what. This will help them with the selection of candidates. Second, the most contentious issues in the last CA, like federalism and identity, will again emerge as the major issues during new CA polls. This might help clear the picture during the election, but in the post-electoral phase we will again be back to square one on constitution making. Third, if the faith in state machinery cannot be restored in the next four or five months, I foresee very violent polls. Well aware of the advantages the then CPN (Maoist) gained through systemic use of force in the last CA polls, the party is likely to fall back on similar violent tactics this time too. Remember, they have also not renounced violence as a means towards strategic ends. If the Maoist predisposition to violence reappears during new CA polls, other political parties, considering their humiliating losses last time around and the feeble state machinery which was utterly unprepared to deal with such intimidation tactics, are unlikely to take things lying down again. This sets the stage for a confrontational election, which could undermine its legitimacy. But surprisingly not much attention has gone into this important issue.
What are the main agendas Nepali Congress will take into new polls?
There are mainly three agendas. The country cannot afford the luxury of second failure of Constituent Assembly. The reason the last CA failed was because the political force leading it could not take constitution making to its logical end. There is a saying: Doing the same thing a thousand times and expecting a different result is insanity. If there is no change in CA leadership, the outcome will be the same. Extremist forces are incapable of writing a constitution. Constitution making rather calls for moderate forces that have the capacity to coordinate and negotiate tactfully. Ideologically, organizationally and historically, Nepali Congress is geared to play the role of precisely such a moderate force. We will tell the people that the CA will succeed only under the leadership of Nepali Congress. Two, we believe that it is not possible to solve the existing problems in Nepali society either through a status quo or an extremist approach. Again, an accommodative, moderate force like Nepali Congress is needed to sort out problems at the societal level. Three, the anti-incumbency factor will work to our advantage this time around. Last four years when Nepali Congress has by and large stayed out of government have probably been the worst in terms of governance in Nepal’s history. People will look at Nepali Congress as a natural alternative to end this vicious cycle.
How have divisions within the party affected poll preparations?
We find that challenges posed by a formal division in a party, when particular persons came to be openly associated with particular leaders, are not easy to resolve on reunification. Other parties that have undergone divisions in the past might also be suffering from some of the same problems that we face today. Nepali democracy has suffered the most due to the deficiencies in its major parties, mainly in their failure to properly manage balance of power. Being the oldest political party in the country, Nepali Congress should have been able to show the way, but this issue has not been discussed at an ideological level within the party. So far as the question of intra-party differences affecting our poll preparations is concerned, the intra-party feud in Nepali Congress was at its height in 1999, which was laid to rest by the decision to put forward Krishna Prasad Bhattarai as the prime ministerial candidate. It was a temporary solution. Similarly, projecting a clear candidate to take the party into CA polls will be a temporary solution, but again not be a permanent solution.
There have been many speculations surrounding NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba’s India visit. How have you viewed this?
This is a very natural process. India has been inviting all former prime ministers of Nepal, one after another. It invited Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Sher Bahadur Deuba and I hear Madhav Kumar Nepal is next in the line. I believe India wants to convey certain messages in relation to upcoming polls. There is a perception that Nepali Congress is a spent force in Nepali politics and hence the invitation of its leader by India is seen as such a big thing. But this is again perception, not the reality.
But why was Deuba invited instead of Party President Sushil Koirala?
Again, I believe New Delhi invited Sher Bahadur Deuba in the capacity of a former prime minister. This is the reason during the formal programs there, he represented the country in the capacity of former prime minister rather than the leader of a political party.
You were a member of the Bhim Bahadur Tamang-led committed to settle federalism and identity related issues in Nepali Congress. The same issues will again emerge during upcoming polls, but the party still seems ambiguous on these important issues.
The only thing Nepali Congress cannot compromise on are the fundamentals of democracy. The party has readily embraced all changes that are in the best interest of Nepali society, including the agenda of federalism. We are accused of lack of clarity on this issue. But the fact is that we could not be clearer. Give me two days and I can give you not just our federal model, but a complete draft of the constitution of the federal democratic republic of Nepal that Congress envisions. Yes, two days. We have already thrashed out all important issues inside the party. To counter the accusation that Congress lacks clarity on important issues, I say let us take two documents before the people ahead of the CA vote: a fully completed draft constitution of the federal democratic republican Nepal and our manifesto for what we plan to do from the head of the government in the next five years. But rest assured, no matter how clear we are, other political parties will always accuse Nepali Congress of lack of clarity, which is an important part of their election campaign.