Endless meetings, cross-party negotiations and a number of deliberations had become a hallmark of Nepal's constitution-making process since the parties geared up for historic responsibility of drafting the new constitution to institutionalize federalism, republicanism, and secularism and to take the country towards a new era of inclusive democracy, lasting peace and development. The journey that started with the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the 2005 Twelve-Point Deal had taken frustratingly long time, raising questions over capability of political parties to come to a compromise and move forward. Pessimism hit a new high after the first Constituent Assembly was dissolved, owing to failure of the political parties to resolve key constitutional issues. The CA II polls in 2013 renewed hope but that was quickly shattered after the midnight mayhem in the CA on January 20 this year. Given this painful context, people had almost stopped expecting anything good from the political leaders. But they pleasantly surprised us all with the historic midnight deal on Monday night. We believe it could be a milestone to pave a way for constitution making, and thereby realizing people's aspirations of drafting national charter through their own chosen representatives. We welcome the deal and appreciate top leaders of the Big Four—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, UCPN (Maoist), and Madheshi Morcha—and all second rung-leaders of the parties who painstakingly worked behind the scene to make the agreement possible.No doubt, the deal is far from perfect. The parties have agreed to eight-province federal model, parliamentary system, mixed electoral model and a constitutional court for 10 years. It does not clearly spell out the details of federalism—the most contentious of all issues. The to-be-adopted federal map doesn't give any picture regarding how provinces will be delineated, it has entrusted this responsibility to a Federal Commission but is silent about how this commission will be formed and how it will work. The question remains whether the Commission will be able to demarcate the boundaries acceptable to all parties. It would have been much better if every contention of federalism had been resolved. But our own experience suggests this is an extremely arduous task that requires an absolute consensus, which, given various political and ideological leanings of our parties, was near impossible. However, there are some good things as well. There is a provision for Lower House with 275 members, of which 165 will be elected under first-past-the-post and 110 members through proportional representation (PR) system. This could ensure representation of the poor and the marginalized. There will be a constitutional court with a mandate to settle disputes between federation and provinces, one and another province and between a province and local bodies. And most of all, there is a commitment to hold the local elections at the earliest.
Now that a roadmap has been developed, the parties must work based on the spirit of this agreement as promised. Days ahead are not going to be a smooth sailing. Even small misunderstanding could prove disastrous. Congress President and PM Sushil Koirala and Maoist Chairman Dahal argued over whether or not to include the word "pluralism" in the deal. Besides, 28 parties, from the 30-party opposition alliance, have decided to boycott the CA meeting that will own up the Monday's deal. Others have warned to "walk out of the CA" and even termed the agreement "political dishonesty." The first challenge for the 'Big Four' will be to take these parties into confidence. And the dissenting parties should also realize that any constitution is not set in stone; it can be amended to their likes when they have the required majority in the parliament. Politics is also a matter of give and take. Sushil Koirala, KP Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Bijay Kumar Gachchadar have conceded from their earlier stands. Now this agreement should serve as a document of minimum required consensus to settle contentious issues.
Let us not forget, these are not normal times. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness," said Charles Dickens of the 19th Century France. We have come to characterize the same situation. We have lost our precious time and resources for the last decade in trying to write a constitution. Our economy is in a shambles, local bodies defunct, thousands of youths are leaving the country for good. And the April 25 Great Earthquake has added to our woes. But we have not yet lost hope. We need a constitution to end this prolonged transition, expedite the reconstruction process and bring country's politics back on track. If we still keep disputing, our dreams for new Nepal will always remain a dream. Tuesday's deal marks a silver lining. Parties must seize this moment and move forward. The real test has only begun.
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