The Khil Raj Regmi government came into office a hundred days ago with the sole mandate of holding new election to Constituent Assembly to get constitution-making back on track. As far as practicable, the election was to be held within June, 2013. But that was never meant to be, as it soon became clear that the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) that agreed on the sitting Chief Justice’s name as the executive head of the election government had tacitly agreed to hold the election sometime in November-December.
But for three long months the CJ-led government even failed to announce a new election date as the political parties, both within and outside the HLPC, bickered over various poll-related issues like PR threshold, size of CA and allowing people with criminal backgrounds to contest. The agitating parties outside HLPC mechanism wanted the resignation of the Regmi government (in case of CPN-Maoist) or at least his resignation as Chief Justice (Upendra Yadav’s MJF and Ashok Rai FSP) before meaningful talks could begin. They have stuck to their demands so far. In this contentious environment, the Regmi government has taken the announcement of new CA polls on November 19 as the biggest achievement of its ‘honeymoon’ period. [break]
It is strange that the technocratic government felt the need to bring out a 95-page report on its ‘achievements’ when its only mandate was (and still is) successful CA polls. The report, predictably, is light on substance. Even regular administrative tasks like appointments and transfers, distribution of relief to flood victims and giving continuity to road expansion in Kathmandu (as if it had a choice) have been cited as noteworthy tasks. Its regular dialogue with agitating parties and the passage of amended election-related ordinance have been emphasized as well. But if anything, for an election government the failure to announce polls for three long months can be seen as a sign of incompetence, despite the fact that it could not do so without at least major political forces on board. We believe the sole measure of the success of this government will be its ability (or lack thereof) to hold free and fair CA polls. There can be no other yardstick to measure the competence of an election government.
The government, to its credit, has been trying to engage the agitating forces and accommodate their demands in close consultations with HLPC. But that is not the only hurdle towards polls. The current strength of security forces is not enough to ensure fair and violence-free election. Nepal Police has called for recruitment of 35,000 temporary personnel for the purpose. But there are fears that political parties will look to push their cronies during the selection process. There have also been suggestions on the mobilization of Nepal Army as a backup force for election. How the security issue is resolved will have big ramifications on CA polls. The question of delineation of new electoral constituencies is proving to be as controversial. Rather than be sidetracked by minor issues, the government should keep itself focused on the ultimate goal and the very rationale for its existence: CA polls. Losing sight of it could prove to be disastrous, not just for the Regmi government’s legacy but for the democratic future of the whole country.
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