Be prepared

Published On: May 11, 2017 12:25 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


Second phase election 
It is most unfortunate that even as half of the country votes in the first phase of local election on May 14, the fate of the second phase poll, initially scheduled for June 14, is still unclear. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is still trying his level best to persuade the protesting Madhesi and Janajati forces to take part in the second phase. He has been in constant dialogue with the main opposition on how the concerns of both the main opposition as well the protesting parties can be accommodated in the constitution before the second phase. The Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) and the broader Federal Alliance has been adamant that they will allow the second phase only if the constitution is first amended to their liking. It was precisely owing to disagreements with these forces that the local election had to be held in two phases, with the second phase covering the base areas of these protesting parties. Then there is the dispute of whether the government can bring a budget in between the two phases of local election. 

Since the sovereignty is vested entirely on Nepali people, we believe that no one has the right to take away the sovereign people’s right to vote. We understand that the new constitution may not be acceptable to all sections of the society, and thus effort continues to be made to make it more inclusive. But in a democracy, if certain political issues simply cannot be resolved among the political parties, then the only viable alternative is to get a fresh mandate. That is how the democratic process works. If the Madhesi and Janajati forces feel that the communities they represent have been hard done by, why don’t they have the confidence to go the people? If their grievances find resonance among their constituents, people will vote for these parties and put them in a position to address their demands through the democratic process. That said, the Big Three must show utmost flexibility in accommodating the concerns of the protesting parties and to get them to contest the second phase. There are already signs that CPN-UML, the biggest opposition party, may be open to amending the constitution after the first phase, as it feels that such a gesture will translate into votes in Tarai-Madhes in the second phase.   

There is unprecedented support in favor of timely local election and as the articulators of people’s hopes and aspirations it is the responsibility of our political parties to make it happen. On the budget, the political parties can agree on a bare-bone budget that takes care of recurrent expenditure. The government can then bring the full-fledged budget after the second phase. Creating conducive political climate for the second phase of local election should be the primary aim of all the democratic forces right now. Our political actors have offered all kinds of lame excuses for their abject failure to hold local election in the past two decades. With half the country already having voted and with local level units there functional, no excuse to delay the second phase in the other half of the country will sound credible. 


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