Nearly two-and-a-half months into his appointment as the executive head for the sole purpose of holding new Constituent Assembly polls, Khil Raj Regmi has still not been able to announce the election date. As we have repeatedly emphasized in this space, the CJ-led government cannot afford to sit on the vital decision indefinitely. The sooner the election-related hurdles are cleared and a clear date for new polls is announced, the better the likelihood of CA polls by the scheduled mid-December deadline. It might be argued that it is not for the technocratic government to unilaterally announce a poll date in the absence of a solid political understanding underpinning new polls. After all, even after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the political parties represented in the erstwhile assembly continue to be the only genuine representatives of the people, at least until next election. Until the High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM) and the parties outside it can come to the same page on crucial election-related issues like one percent PR threshold and size of new CA, it will be extremely difficult for Regmi to try to push through an election date. [break]
But there are signs that the same political forces that appointed Regmi as the head of the election government are now trying to make him a scapegoat for their failure to clear the road for new election. Hence, even while political negotiations seem to be going nowhere, the political parties have started accusing the government of losing its focus on election and being enmeshed in day to day affairs of the state, as if it were a ‘normal government.’ Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have gone so far as to goad Regmi to unilaterally announce polls without awaiting for the ever-elusive ‘political consensus’, if it is serious about polls. The government finds itself in a Catch 22 situation. Does it go ahead and unilaterally announce polls, to the wrath of the agitating political parties? Or does it continue to wait broad political consensus, which might never materialize?
In a related development, the chorus for Regmi’s resignation as the Chief Justice is getting louder. There are signs that the main agitating parties like CPN-Maoist and Upendra Yadav-led MJF (Nepal) might be amenable to meaningful dialogue if this condition is met. Both NC and UML (overtly) and the Maoist and Madhesi forces (tacitly) seem to favor this option if it helps clear the way for new polls. We believe this is a win-win formula. It could not only bring the disgruntled forces on board, but equally importantly, it will also remove doubts that the Supreme Court is being used to push government agendas under pressure from Regmi, who continues to serve as the head of the judiciary in absentia. No sitting SC justice would want to incur his wrath, which could be inimical for their future career prospects. What the country needs the most at the current juncture is a new Constituent Assembly to revive the stalled constitutional process and bail the country out of the prolonged impasse. But even if his resignation as CJ ultimately serves no bigger purpose, it will greatly enhance Regmi’s credibility as someone who was ready to make a significant personal sacrifice for the greater good of the country.
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