Delayed Election To Constituent Assembly

Madhavji Shrestha

NOW that the proposed election to the constituent assembly has been delayed, a political quandary has set in. Indeed, it has dampened the enthusiasm for putting the democratisation process on track. Knowledgeable people have even cast doubts as to whether the eight-party coalition government will be able to agree on a date for the election. Pessimists think that the history of the early 1950s, when the much-promised election to such a constituent assembly was derailed, will revisit Nepal. In such a scenario, Nepal's democratic journey would face an insurmountable roadblock.

Blame game

Soon after realising that the elections can't be held in June, the political parties, especially the eight coalitional partners, began blaming one another for not preparing well for the democratic exercise. An understanding reached in New Delhi in November 2005 on the issue had indeed provided enormous impetus to the political parties to overthrow the authoritarian royal rule last April. At present, the same political parties don't share the same views nor do they act in unison to realise the long cherished CA polls.There was no surprise when the eight political parties held the sinister activities by the regressive forces responsible for the delay of the election. Some political parties did not lag behind in blaming foreign interference working visibly and invisibly against the election as scheduled. However, shrewd political observers have blamed the eight political partners for the omission of timely political actions and the commission of excesses, both not contributory to creating an atmosphere convenient for holding the election. They further blame the political parties for hoodwinking the people with their non-obliging acts and activities. The political parties knew well about the prevailing situation in the country and held frequent interactions among themselves. Despite having such intimate knowledge and information about the political situation, why the political parties decided on holding the polls on June 20 is anyone's guess. Immediately afterwards, this instigated the Election Commission to tell the people about the practical difficulty of holding the election. This looks like an orchestrated phoney drama to be enacted before the common people. As political co-travellers for 18 months, the political leaders of the eight parties must shoulder the responsibility for not fulfilling their promise.

However, a series of political events in the recent times appear to have led to the polarisation between the leftist political forces and the centrist-cum-rightist political groups. This, in turn, will have a visible effect on the political developments taking place in the near future, indicating competitive politics, which, if it develops into a principled stance, can contribute to the democratisation process and also toward a mature multi-party system. However, the political parties need to remain cautious and cagey to see that the polarisation stays within the limit of the modern party system. Divisive forces and unwanted elements need to be checked to foster modern democracy. Meanwhile, the stalled election process should give the political parties sufficient time and opportunity to educate the masses of Nepal about the enduring importance of the election to the constituent assembly. More than three-fourths of Nepal's population is ignorant of the historically significant functions of the constituent assembly. To translate this into reality, the political parties must gear up their mechanisms and spread their tentacles nation-wide to mingle with the grassroots people, especially in the rural areas. Well-trained cadres and material resources are badly needed to move ahead in this direction.

The delay would also enable the government and the Election Commission to prepare the requisites to hold the election in an atmosphere of peace and security. This, in turn, would attract and enable the maximum number of people to participate in the election, which will help the political parties gain greater confidence and influence in moving ahead in enacting a democratic constitution. Election to the constituent assembly should not be held in haste and under an unruly situation. Loss of a few months will not be that damaging.Postponement as far as it is done with justified reasons has indeed sent a good message to the democratic countries and the international and regional organisations like the UN and the EU, because they would have sufficient time to help and observe the election process in Nepal. Naturally they think the time would bring in a favourable condition to heal the wounds and to reduce the rancour stalking in Nepal. The above presents a positive side of the political picture. However, the other side of the picture reflects the grimmer situation in the country. Regrettably, judged by the performance of the coalition government in the past one year, there is little good to hope for. The dismal failure to maintain the much-desired law and order for peace and security has had its negative effects. To make things worse, the government never exhibited any eagerness or took any initiative to give a ray of hope for the socio-economic uplift of the poverty-grilled people.

Discontent reigns supreme in Nepal. This has reduced the popularity of the political parties and their leaders. Just a year ago, after the resounding success of the people's movement last April, their popularity with the people was at its zenith. Now it is coming down to its nadir. Their inability to guide the society towards accommodative democracy has become greatly visible. Their only indulgence in political wrangling and the rent-seeking attitudes are costing them dearly. With the visible decline of their popularity has come the question of the legitimacy of the political leaders staying at the helm. This has become a far greater dilemmatic concern for those in power and also those in frontal politics. They will, for sure, lose their moral influence and political authority to remain in power in view of their failure to deliver what the masses have expected. As a consequence, frustrations will only rise if some far-reaching improvements cannot be made to win them to their side.

Democratic destiny

If the delay in announcing the date for the CA election becomes unduly long, then it will defeat the purpose and deviate from the democratic destiny. A conducive environment must be created to elect people-oriented representatives to frame a democratic constitution that can nurture the desires and meet the demands of the people, who have long cherished to send genuinely people-serving representatives to replace the ventriloquists who are hardly able to realise what they have promised. The people need only those who can transform words into deeds. Let political ingenuity and visionary statesmanship come their way to rescue the political leaders from the thorny political impasse.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 3, 2007