Nepal elects its first President

In a historic move, the Constituent Assembly (CA) in Nepal elected the first President of the country--Dr Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepal Congress, backed by the Communist Party of Nepal-UML and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF).On July 21, Dr Yadav secured 308 votes defeating Ramraja Singh, a Maoist-backed candidate, who secured 282 votes.

The election result had in fact become apparent when at the last moment, a new alliance of NC, UML and MJF emerged to challenge the Maoist plans to get their candidate elected.

The newly-elected President, Dr Yadav hails from a small village of Safai in Dhanusha district in south-eastern Nepal. Most of his schooling and higher education was completed in Kathmandu. He later studied medicine in India, completing his MBBS from Calcutta Medical College and MD from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research (PGIMR), Chandigarh.

Despite a successful medical practice, he chose the political life and entered the Nepalese politics in the 1960s as a student leader. He led the anti-Panchayat demonstrations against King Mahendra. Since then, for more than three decades, he participated and spearheaded every pro-democracy movement in the country.

During the first general elections in 1990s, he was elected from Dhanusha constituency as a Nepali Congress candidate. He served for two terms in the government as Health Minister. He was the general secretary of NC before being elected as the President.

The presidential election has set the country’s political discourse on a sharp turn. The defeat of the Maoists’ candidate has changed the political dynamics in the country. The failure of the Maoists to work up a consensus on the presidential candidate and the sudden emergence of a rival coalition indicate a confrontational politics in the days ahead. Maoists have accepted the results of the presidential election, they see a foreign conspiracy in the outcome. They believe that it was part of the conspiracy to keep them away from forming the government.

The Maoists, rolling high after the unprecedented victory in the elections, have suddenly turned reticent about their participation in the government. The Maoist leaders maintain that they have lost the moral ground to stake claim for leading the new government. The victory of the NC presidential candidate has given a major blow to the Maoists who won the largest number of seats in the April assembly elections. Presumably, their decision to stay away from heading the government was not an unexpected move.

It is obvious that the new alliance of the NC, UML and MJF enjoys a majority in the House as compare to the Maoists and its chances of forming the new government have certainly brightened after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s resignation. The Maoists, however, can stake the claim being the single largest party in the Assembly. Senior leaders of the alliance are keen to work with the Maoists and have approached them. It is too early to figure out the alliance’s objectives in first defeating the Maoist candidate and then making efforts to persuade them to lead the government.

These developments have certainly undermined the consensual politics which was emerging after the April elections. The political parties should review their rigid stands and work towards creating a New Nepal as they had promised to the people during the campaign. The Maoists should take the lead in playing a constructive role and take the initiative in forming the new government. They should refrain from creating any obstacles in the peace process and avoid delaying the Constitution drafting process.

There is an urgent need for the political parties to stay on the path of consensual politics and avoid confrontation among themselves, to steer the country through the tough times ahead.

Source: Observer Research Foundation, July 26, 2008