On September 20 this year, Nepal marked the eighth anniversary of the promulgation of the constitution. The Constitution of 2015 holds special significance as it was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which brought about a major political shift in the country by adopting federalism as a system of governance.

KATHMANDU, Sept 20: Acting Prime Minister and Defence Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka has said that the government is continuously effortful towards giving an impetus to the constitution implementation and fulfilling the aspirations of the country and people by establishing political stability, peace and good governance.

KATHMANDU, Sept 19: Former Chairperson of Council of Ministers, Khil Raj Regmi, has extended his wishes that the Constitution Day would inspire everyone to uphold constitutional procedures and the rule of law, making a way towards a happy journey of democracy and prosperity.

There was a time when politics was taken as a field of study with deep interest and politicians were given due respect because of their conviction, dedication, and service to society. Leaders were taken as the harbinger of change and acclaimed. But today, the scenario has dramatically taken a U-turn where politicians are taken as scoundrels, and thieves of the treasury because of their changed role and contribution to society with a bad name.

Nepal, a landlocked country situated in the Himalayas, has witnessed significant political changes and challenges over the years. With a diverse population and a complex socio-political landscape, political parties have played a crucial role in shaping Nepal's governance and democracy. However, recent developments have raised questions abo, ut the future of political parties in the country.

KATHMANDU, July 6: The CPN (Maoist Center) has said its serious attention has been drawn toward the 'misinterpretation' of the statement about Sardar Pritam Singh made by party Chairman and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Nepal is losing its momentum in meeting the expectations of its people as a flourishing democratic nation with prosperity and advancement. In the 15 years following the announcement of Nepal as a federal democratic republic in 2008, and particularly after the promulgation of the constitution under a new political setup, the country is descending into chaos, exhibiting all the characteristics of a failed or failing state.

KATHMANDU, May 5: Speaker Devraj Ghimire has described the right to information (RTI) as the lifeline of democracy.

Nepal, like many countries, faces the challenge of systemic corruption in various sectors, including politics. As the country strives to strengthen its democracy and promote fairness in the political process, one tool that is gaining some attention is public financing of elections.

KATHMANDU, Feb 10: Chairman of Nepal Samajwadi Party and former prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has said that today’s alternative politics is all about strengthening institutions by strengthening democracy.

A functioning democracy is built on the foundation of transparency, without which it cannot truly be called a democracy. The people choose democracy as their system of governance because it empowers them with the right to know and understand the actions of their elected representatives.

Nepal should also replace representative democracy with direct democracy. Until then, we have to keep electing young and competent politicians in the general elections. It is always good to see Millennials sweeping into public offices.

KATHMANDU, Nov 17: Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that it is everyone’s responsibility to make the historic elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and provincial assemblies scheduled for November 20 a success.

NAWALPARASI WEST, Nov 16: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has called for the victory of the ruling coalition in the November 20 elections for the defense of democracy and the constitution. Addressing an election gathering held on Tuesday, he said that it is necessary for the ruling alliance to win for economic prosperity along with peace, constitution and democracy.

KATHMANDU, June 27: Newly appointed Minister for Urban Development, Metmani Chaudhary, has directed employees at the ministry and other subordinate bodies to perform and deliver in accordance with the Constitution and the relevant laws.

The fact that politically unaffiliated dynamic young candidates like Balen Shah and Harkaraj Sampang Rai were elected as the mayors of two big cities of Nepal shows a new local political movement has arrived in Nepal as well. This type of political movement is known as Flatpack Democracy - a small-scale revolution that is bringing real change to local politics. Citizens are reclaiming their respective cities from political parties.

The elements of a functional democracy must include the following: separation of power, independent judiciary, direct or indirect participation of the people, rule of law, transparency of the government officials, safeguard of fundamental rights, free and fair elections, to name a few. I challenge any of our contemporary political leaders to say if even half of these parameters have been met in Nepal.

DANG, May 9: Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the current coalition was forged among political parties that are in favor of democracy and transformation.

MAKWANPUR, May 2: CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli has said local level elections should be conducted effectively to keep parliamentary democracy intact.

Living a hypocritical way of life is oxymoronically comfortable, but the sad reality is that, doing so, we are marching toward a society characterized by ‘individual brilliance and collective failure’.

Democracy seems to delight people only as long as they feel they are getting fast, fair and free services from the local bodies.

This escalating ideological crisis within the political parties, lack of vision and clear action plan, disregard to the democratic norms in the selection of party leadership, sidelining the issues of inclusion as envisioned by the Constitution of Nepal, leaves ample grounds for suspicion on the ability and intention of political parties to institutionalize the nascent republican system of governance in Nepal.

What will happen if the AI governance setup of the future feels a monarchy in a democratic setup is preferable to the anarchy created by dysfunctional democracy?

There are a host of issues before the election commission and the state to address as a challenge in order to strengthen and defend the electoral democracy, fostering more inclusive and participatory elections.

Hope is all we have. Let’s hope 2022 will be a productive year in Nepal’s journey to peace and prosperity. Let’s hope we all will let our hopes, not our hurts, shape 2022.

When the judiciary, constitutional and regulatory bodies are turned into epicentres of corruption, run by nominees notorious for their malpractices or nominated through unconstitutional processes, there is nothing which makes us optimistic about a democratic polity.

Democracy, "of the people, by the people, and for the people” cannot tolerate political nexus with foreign agents, syndicate, nepotism, intolerance, oligarchy, plutocracy, kleptocracy, commissions, corruptions and lawlessness including exemption from punishment to bigwigs and politicians suspected to be liable for criminal offences, which signify mockery of Federal Democracy, and Legislative, Executive and Judiciary as becoming dysfunctional – a recipe for the next democratic revolution.

DEUKHURI, Nov 4: CPN-UML leader Shankar Pokhrel has said that the dispute of judges of the Supreme Court and launching the agitation is the game to weaken democracy.

KATHMANDU, Nov 3: Former Chief Justice (CJ) Kalyan Shrestha has said that the democracy of Nepal has evolved into a company. He made the comment while speaking at a book release program on Wednesday.

TUNIS, July 26: Tunisia faced its biggest crisis in a decade of democracy on Monday after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze the activities of parliament, a move his foes labelled a coup that should be opposed on the street.

KP Oli’s tendencies are wholly and growingly anti-democratic. He seems to hold no conception that an MP’s power to vote in parliament is derived from the trust from the sovereign people, and not from the party’s chairman.

The deepening crisis of intraparty democracy brushes off the achievement of democratic values and legal standards and creates a feeding ground for brutal and egregious dictators. We are, in a true sense, living under a dictatorship.

The idea of elections has changed from an eagerly awaited event to an occurrence that could be good or bad but necessary for the continuance of the present political system.

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the abolition of censorship, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Poland’s civil society is again defending its hard-won democracy from a state determined to do away with it.

In a decade punctuated by the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 crisis, a racial-justice crisis, an inequality crisis, and now a political crisis, we have only paid lip service to lofty democratic ideals.

When a government elected with an overwhelming majority dissolves the House due to the failure and inability to manage intra party wrangling and discord, it could become a bane for democracy.

For any regime, gradual change is surely preferable to the prospect of an abrupt upheaval that threatens to replace those in power with a power vacuum.

As 2021 begins, the geopolitical terrain in the Arab world will continue to shift. The outcome will depend on whether or when the goal of democracy mobilizes Arab populations once again.

Because of the government’s inability to provide ‘freedom from’ things like exploitation, corruption and poverty, citizens are thinking about giving up on ‘freedom to’ with hopes that a monarch might at least be able to provide the former.

The fact that I, a foreigner, can write this article and it is published is an example of how democratic norms have been rooted in the fabric of Nepali society.

Such is the nature of our present education system that the younger generation knows more about the policies of Obamas and Trumps than about their own MPs or the changes they have brought or proposed.

Madan Bhandari is one politician of the Left on whom there has been significant discussion in the mainstream polity of Nepal. And yet, one feels that the narrative is inadequate. Despite all that has been written and said, the very fact that that he led a communist party makes academicians and writers hesitate to properly locate his contributions in Nepal’s 70 years of democratic struggle.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region (SAR) of China. Surrounded by the South China Sea on all sides except the north, which neighbours the Guangdong city of Shenzhen, Hong Kong has a free market economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system.  It is said that Hong Kong is a paradise for shopping, a unique place where the East meets the West and old meets new. So living in Hong Kong will be an amazing experience, everybody loves this cosmopolitan city. There is a moderately large population of Nepali people in Hong Kong.

BRUSSELS – The economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis occupy almost everyone’s thoughts and conversations. And for good reason: the European Union, for one, is headed toward the worst recession in its history, with the economy expected to shrink by 7-12% this year. But far less is being said about the danger the pandemic poses to democracy, even though the signals are similarly ominous.

KATHMANDU, April 27: Three political parties -- Nepali Congress, People's Socialist Party, Nepal, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party-- represented in the federal parliament have demanded legal action against those involved in the 'kidnapping' of lawmaker Dr. Surendra Yadav.

KATHMANDU, April 23: Nepali Congress President and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged all to be aware of the protection of everyone's rights as the democracy ensures rights to all.

KATHMANDU, Feb 19: The 70th National Democracy Day is being observed across the country by organizing various programs today.

During the Gettysburg Address in 1863, Abraham Lincoln stated that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” He must have thought democracy to be the best political system in the world. Albert Camus, a French philosopher trusted democracy to be the protection of the minority. For Harry Fosdick, democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people. If Lincoln, Camus, and Fosdick were alive today, they would probably be extremely disappointed to learn that democracy is in an acute crisis as it has failed to deliver on its promises.

The heart of the democracy is cracked open, parched and sun-dried. And its soul has been encroached as the public land in the Kathmandu Valley.

JERUSALEM – If any Western country is suffering from democratic dysfunction, it is Israel. With the country’s political leaders having again failed to form a government following the most recent parliamentary election in September, voters will head back to the polls in March 2020 for the third time in less than a year. Yet, given Israel’s inflamed, polarized politics and its highly proportional electoral system, what else can one expect from this next national vote except more deadlock?