As expected, the political proposal presented by CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya at the ongoing Central Committee meeting in Pokhara calls for a boycott of new CA polls under the status quo. More troublingly, the vibes from the CC meet suggest the party is preparing to disrupt the November 19 election, which it has deemed a tool for reactionary and anti-national forces to make their presence felt. If the party indeed adopts a policy of disrupting the CA election, which at present is the only hope of getting the derailed constitution-making back on track, it could be another big setback for Nepal’s stop-start democratic process.[break]
In the long run, Secretary Netra Bikram Chanda’s proposal of a new military wing to conclude the ‘new democratic revolution’ threatens to take the country back on the course of violence. The new Maoist party is in no mood for concessions unless the government postpones November 19 polls. On the other hand, the High Level Political Mechanism and most democratic forces are in no position to compromise on the date of the long-delayed election. The scene is once again set for confrontation.
Yes, there must be every effort to get the CPN-Maoist and other agitating parties on board. It can be argued that the HLPC as well as the Regmi government could have done more on this front. But the Baidya-led party’s rider of unconditional postponement of election slams any prospect of meaningful dialogue. If the polls are postponed, the next feasible date might be nearly a year away.
The bigger problem with yet another postponement will be that people could simply lose any remaining trust in the political parties, already at an all time low according to some recent polls. Unlike what the CPN-Maoist leaders have been arguing, it is not CA election, but the failure to hold it on the scheduled date that will promote the interests of the ‘reactionary and anti-national elements’. It is hard to believe that CPN-Maoist top brass doesn’t realize this self-evident fact. Yet they continue to push ahead with their ‘revolutionary tactics’ to restore ‘national sovereignty’. This can only be interpreted as a ploy to buttress their bargaining position ahead of the polls which they fear will not yield a desirable outcome, if they participate.
The party apparently fears that ‘hundreds of thousands’ of non-Nepalis could get citizenships in the government’s zeal to hold polls at any cost. It is true that in the course of previous citizenship distribution campaigns many non-Nepalis have through various devious means managed to get fake citizenships. But that cannot be an argument to deprive potentially millions of genuine Nepalis who could be deprived of voting rights without citizenship certificates. Maybe there is a genuine case of making citizenship distribution more rigorous to minimize frauds, but the CPN-Maoist weakens its case by simply refusing to discuss possible way outs.
The party gives a distinct feeling that it still does not believe in the dialogue process to settle political disputes and would rather resort to violent tactics to get their demands addressed. This is a dangerous course. Not just for the political aspirations of the dash-Maoists but also for the democratic future of the whole country.
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