A week after the Interim Election Council announced November 19 as the date for new CA polls, the much-awaited election is by no means certain. It took three months for Khil Raj Regmi government to announce the polls, largely owing to the differences among the Big Four in the High Level Political Committee (HLPC). Now that a new election date has finally been announced, it is up to all democratic forces to clear the way for November 19 election and give the people the chance to choose their representatives to write a new constitution for the federal democratic republic of Nepal once again. But not all political forces are sold on the election agenda as yet. CPN-Maoist led by Mohan Baidya, Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) of Upendra Yadav and Ashok Rai’s Federal Socialist Party (FSP) have been protesting the ‘unilateral’ announcement of a new poll date. Other fringe parties are unhappy too. [break]
Yes, their genuine demands need to be adjusted. But it seems some forces like Baidya’s CPN-Maoist are in no mood to go to polls, it has been putting forth unrealistic demands like replacement of current government with a ‘political government.’ CPN-Maoist leaders, however, are not clear what type of political government they are talking about. Also, it was the failure to find a consensus political candidate to lead the election government that led to the formation of the present government. The other two major agitating forces—MJF and FSP—have more realistic demands like increasing the number of proportional representation seats in CA polls. We see nothing principally wrong with the demand for more PR seats for greater accommodation of marginalized groups. In fact, this can be the perfect tool to make the new CA as representative as the last one. We also support the demand of the agitating parties that the HLPC should be scrapped if it cannot create a condition to include them. However, formation of a new government after a roundtable political conference, as CPN-Maoist has been demanding, will be counterproductive at this eleventh hour. The country has already left that option far behind.
Ultimately, the people should decide the kind of constitution they want. The goings-on in the erstwhile CA could not gain people’s confidence as the house failed to take the discussions over crucial issues like federalism, system of governance and inclusive society to the people. The people at large never felt represented in overall discussions. The same mistake should be avoided at all costs: discussions among a limited number of actors behind closed doors are no longer acceptable to the Nepali people. The situation has changed a lot since the 2008 CA polls as many parties have split and voices of marginalized communities and minority groups have come out strongly. More importantly, the major parties have already lost the mandate to decide on the country’s most pressing issues. Therefore, the only way ahead is clearing the way for polls wherein people are given another chance to express their mandate. The four parties should immediately start negotiating with the dissenting groups afresh and look to accommodate their practical demands. The latter should also be ready to take their agendas to the people. And this would not be possible without fresh CA election. The parties need to work with the government to ensure that the election takes place before the government’s tenure comes to an end mid-December, failing which the country could be pushed into a prolonged political turmoil for years to come.
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