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Published On: December 14, 2016 12:45 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


Three sets of elections 
As much as we would like to see timely local polls, the chances of it happening by the target time of April, 2017, are pretty slim. This is because the deadlock over the constitution, it appears, will drag on for some time yet. We now hear that the three big parties are currently discussing the feasibility of ‘shelving’ the controversial constitution amendment proposal so as to clear the way for the three sets of elections that must be held by the constitutionally mandated deadline of January, 2018. This is easier said than done. Even if the three parties can come to an agreement on this, the Madhesh-based parties will most certainly reject any proposal that puts off viable constitutional settlements indefinitely. So the government is being dishonest when it is repeatedly telling us that the three sets of elections will all be held on time. The lack of seriousness of the political class to timely elections is also evident in the fact that not one of the nine election-related laws is ready. The Election Commission has already clarified that from the day all election-related laws are ready it needs at least four months to prepare for elections. 

This means if the local polls are to be held in April, the electoral laws should be finalized by the end of this month, and there is now no chance of this. So Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal should be honest with the people and stop making promises that he cannot keep. If there is broad political consensus on constitution amendment, a change of few months in the electoral schedule makes no material difference. There is also a possibility of holding two or more elections—local, provincial and federal—at the same time, if there is time-crunch. But this again will call for broad consensus, which will be elusive given the high level of polarization of Nepali polity of late. All political parties should be ready to make substantive concessions in order to clear the way for elections. The constitution is not written in stone and it can (and should) change as per the changing needs of the society. So settle what can be settled now and then go to the people to get a fresh mandate. 

Many of the constitutional issues today seem intractable because our major political actors have refused to see beyond immediate electoral gains. CPN-UML believes its nationalist stand goes down perfectly among its core electorate. The Madheshi parties fear that they could lose even the few seats they have to radicals if they are seen as ‘soft’ in their negotiations with Kathmandu. The ruling Maoist-Congress coalition, meanwhile, seems determined to go into elections with UML out of the government. The longer the elections, the lifeblood of democracy, are postponed, the greater will be the appeal of extremists both on the left and the right and the more will the legitimacy of the constitution be questioned. Our mainstream political actors have to sooner or later see the writing on the wall. Our only fear is that by the time this realization dawns it might already be too late to find solutions from within this constitution.  

 


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