Republic Nepal: Countdown begins
With the day approaching when nation turns into a republic, major political parties are working on how the transformation should be made without hassle.
In less than a fortnight Nepal will become a republic and the 240-year-old monarchy will find its place in the pages of history, but not in the corridors of power.
Constitutional provisions require the government to set the date of the first sitting of Constituent Assembly (CA) that has to convene within three weeks from the day the Election Commission announced the final poll results. The EC has already fulfilled its historic onus and now it’s for the parties to decide how the initial CA proceedings should go.
In the meantime, disputes have already come to the surface regarding the nomination of 26 CA members – without which the all-powerful assembly will not get a complete shape.
The constitution has authorised the cabinet to nominate the 26 members, but the parties stand divided whether that should be done by the current Koirala cabinet or by a new one, most likely to led by the Maoists.
Speaker of interim parliament Subash Nemwang is in favour of nominating these members by the current cabinet and new government to take over its responsibility after the first sitting of the CA.
On the other hand, Chief Justice Kedar Prasad Giri is of the opinion that the incumbent cabinet has no right to name 26 CA members while Supreme Court justice Anup Raj Sharma, who also heads the CA Court, maintains that there are no constitutional hurdles for the Koirala cabinet to nominate these members.
Obviously, the first sitting of the CA must have all its members present, thus forcing the parties to take quick decision before May 28. The meeting of the six parties held Friday morning mandated PM Koirala to call the CA
meeting on any date between May 25 to 28.
Building consensus will be the main challenge for parties in the days ahead despite their common commitment to stay together. PM Koirala has repeatedly urged collaboration, but he faces strong pressure from within the party, and outside, to step down and allow the Maoists to take a lead in forming a new government.
The differences and internal disputes in the parties are likely to hamper the proceedings of the first day of CA. Few leaders, including Madhesi Janadhikar Forum coordinator Upendra Yadav, and UML’s defeated leader K. P. Oli have said that the first sitting of the CA will end after completing the formalities and that it will not be able to take major decisions like abolishing the monarchy.
On the other hand, the CPN-Maoist which has emerged as the largest party after the polls, has said it has begun the groundwork to table a motion for announcing Nepal a republic on the first day of CA session.
Editor of Himal South Asia Kanak Dixit says, “There are enormous hurdles before the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly, but they can all be resolved according to parliamentary practice through negotiations and consultations between the political parties, according to their strengths and persuasive powers.”
Taking Nepal to a new era is as difficult as it had been to hold the election that was deferred twice. Additionally, doubt still persists whether king Gyanendra will readily vacate the Narayanhiti palace paving peaceful way to new political order. The recent palace statement dismissed media repots that the King was preparing to go into exile in India, but mentioned nothing about his future. Maoist leaders have said the sprawling palace would be turned into a museum.
For the parties, there is no alternative to forging a broad consensus to tackle the challenges that lie in the road to republic as well as in the constitution-making process. GP Koirala’s pre-election statement that Nepal needs political consensus for at least one decade appears all the more relevant at this juncture.
Published in Nepalnews.com