The High Level Political Committee (HLPC) appears to have saddled Khil Raj Regmi government with the responsibility to decide on contentious election-related issues like PR threshold and barring candidates with criminal backgrounds—one way or the other. This came about after endless discussions among the Big Four to settle these thorny issues failed to bear any fruit.
While the HLPC clearly wants to make it appear like the Chief Justice-led government is free to act on its own, the reality is likely to be murkier. It is hard to believe that HLPC constituents will meekly accept the government’s decision over such contentious matters. Chances are that behind the scenes, it will be the same political parties which will be pulling the strings. Whatever the case, it is long past the time that all sides came to an amicable solution to clear the way for new CA polls by the mid-November deadline. [break]
On contentious election-related issues, the provision of no PR threshold from last CA polls is best left untouched. This provision helped make the erstwhile CA the most inclusive body in the country’s history. The argument that members of minority communities who got in through the ‘back door’ sank the old CA, as some have been disingenuously making, is not just plain wrong but also deeply condescending.
The logic behind barring those with criminal record from contesting polls for six years is more sensible. But then again, the likes of Nepali Congress and CPN-UML should understand the Maoist fear that this demand could be leveraged to bar some of their most promising candidates from contesting polls. The meeting point could be that only those who have been proven guilty in a court of law are forbidden.
There are other important issues that need to be taken care of. The Election Commission has expressed its concern over forcible donations, use of improper language and creation of “confusion” regarding CA polls, all of which the parties have engaged in ahead of the impending election.
As important as the upcoming CA polls are, it is likely to be a bitter contest, with intractable issues from the last assembly being raised with vengeance. It is important that discussions be kept civil so that communal tensions don’t flare up in the lead up to polls, or more crucially, after it. But before all that, the government must at once announce a new poll date to make people really believe it is serious about giving the country a new constitution through the CA mechanism. So long as there is no definite announcement, uncertainties will remain, giving those who have always been against CA polls a new cause célèbre.
Whether or not the political parties are serious about handing over the responsibility of settling contentious issues to the Regmi government, the government must take the bait and show itself capable of emerging from HLPC’s shadows. It should still try to broaden political participation for upcoming polls. But again, not everyone can be appeased. Time is ripe for a bold and decisive action.
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