Joint Effort Needed

SPEAKER Subash Nemwang has emphasised the need for joint efforts from all political forces and others to hold the election to a constituent assembly. Speaking at the inaugural session of 41st annual general convention of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Kathmandu the other day, Speaker Nemwang said that constituent assembly election is a must to restructure the state, ensure inclusive democracy and complete the political and peace process. The remarks of the Speaker are absolutely correct as the constituent assembly election alone would institutionalise the achievements of the Jana Andolan II and create a new Nepal. The government and the eight political parties are committed to hold the election by November 2007. It had earlier been agreed to hold the election by mid-June. This deadline could not be met due to various reasons. Thus, the eight political parties recently decided to hold the election by November this year and the government was mandated to fix the convenient date for the election after making due consultation with different stakeholders. There are some important works, which need to be done before announcing the dates for the election. Firstly, the interim constitution has to be amended.

Secondly, some laws concerning the constituent assembly election need to be formulated. The delineation of the electoral constituencies is yet another job to be done before the date for the election is to be announced. Thus, the government is now seriously working to complete other processes for announcing the dates for the election. The constituent assembly election is the priority of the nation and all sectors including the civil society have been demanding early constituent assembly election so that the achievements of the Jana Andolan II would be duly safeguarded. Since the eight political parties have unanimously agreed to hold the election by November 2007, they should work collectively with one voice to hold the election in time and in a free and fair manner. But the constituents of the eight parties and partners of the government are trying to blame one another for the delay in holding the election. This blame game would not help conduct the election in time. It would only create division among the alliance partners. It is high time that the eight parties must consolidate their unity, which alone would help complete the ongoing political process. Thus, the political parties and leaders, as observed by Speaker Nemwang, need to rise above the partisan interest and work together for the common cause of the nation. '

Source: The Rising Nepal, June 5, 2007