Many people would have liked to have seen many things included in the new constitution. The number of stakeholders in the constitutional process had been steadily increasing in the seven years since the election of the first Constituent Assembly in 2008. Pleasing them all was always going to be impossible. And so the murmurs of discontent over the draft constitution prepared by the four parties, who together command the support of over 90 percent CA members. In fact, the draft finalized on Sunday by the CA's Constitution Drafting Committee has many admirable aspects. For instance, its preamble, in keeping with the spirit of the 2006 Jana Andolan and subsequent identity movements, clearly mentions that Nepal is a country with a "federal democratic republican" system of government. The draft constitution makes the process of citizenship in the name of mother easier; it also makes provisions for positive discrimination for underprivileged and marginalized groups. To make governance easy and effective, it limits the number of ministers at the federal level to 25. So the draft constitution has a lot going for it.That does not mean the draft is flawless. The underhand way in which the unambiguous "secularism" is being replaced by the rather vague "religious freedom" may be especially troubling to religious minorities. The PR component of the mixed electoral system to be adopted for the election of national legislature could, arguably, have been increased to make the body truly reflect the diversity in Nepal. And giving the ceremonial President more powers (in election of governors of provinces, for instance) could invite a needless tussle between the state head and the government head. But a little pragmatism is also warranted. First, this is only the first draft of the constitution. Many of its provisions can yet be amended while they are discussed inside the sovereign Constituent Assembly. Second, this draft constitution is the outcome of seven years of what at times appeared like a fruitless, Sisyphean exercise. It is a mini miracle that all three of our major parties (and four of the five biggest) have been able to agree on a common constitution at all!
Nor is the final constitution the end of the road for those who are not satisfied with some of its provisions. For the new draft makes it much easier to amend the constitution, with two-thirds majority in the national assembly. Initially, the four parties had decided that the constitution could only be amended through a two-step process of a two-thirds majority followed by the approval of the proposed amendment in a national referendum. It would thus be grave injustice on the leaders of the four major parties who have for once dared to rise about their partisan interest to try to portray the hard-earned draft constitution in negative light. Yes, it has its flaws, but it also opens up a plethora of opportunities for the creation of a more inclusive and equitable Nepal. Compared to the seven long years of unending political confrontation and the resulting constitutional vacuum, we now at least have something to work with.
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