Nepal’s rulers have been suffering from an affliction called Serial Coalition Syndrome. Symptoms include: inability to see beyond personal greed and ambition, amnesia about the national interest, serious addiction to personal power, OCD about money, and wanton political promiscuity.&nbsp;
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal once again pulled the rug from under his main coalition partner to go off with a former ally whom he has ditched twice before. With this, Nepal has had eight governments in seven years.
The Maoists and the UML had an electoral alliance ahead of the 2017 election, after which they merged their parties. Then they divorced, and now are once more joined in holy matrimony. The country, meanwhile, is back to square one, not that it was faring all that well anyway.
The Nepali Congress (NC), its patriarch and five-time prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba got blindsided once more by Dahal’s checkmate, just as he had been twice before by King Gyanendra.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/catapulting-to-singha-darbar">Catapulting to Singha Darbar</a>, Kunda Dixit
Dahal and Oli now have a new deal of two years each as premier before the 2027 elections. In all likelihood, there will be another coalition shakeup when it is time for Dahal to hand over power to Oli. But this coalition has just 138 votes in Parliament, only enough to win a confidence vote and may not last that long.&nbsp;
However, the crux of the matter is that these coalition reshuffles are of no real concern or significance to ordinary Nepalis, and adds to public disillusionment with the mainstream parties. The RPP and independent mayor Balen Shah have been saying, “Didn’t we tell you there is no hope from these clowns?”
Even the RSP has squandered much of its goodwill because of its leader Rabi Lamichhane's impatience to be Home Minister again so he can launder his tainted image. Dol Prasad Acharya has also been reinstated as Labour Minister despite allegations of conflict of interest over his involvement in a migrant recruiting agency. The only saving grace for the RSP is that MIT-graduate Sumana Shrestha is now Education Minister.
Nepalis will have to continue trying to survive on the brink. Inequity in healthcare will persist, thousands of young Nepalis will migrate overseas every day, only to be fleeced by recruiters and state agencies.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-just-happened-in-nepali-politics">What just happened in Nepali politics?</a>, Nepali Times
The new alliance just ensures that Dahal will continue to be prime minister a bit longer. He also gets to put the blame for his government’s failures, underperformance, and major corruption scandals on the NC.&nbsp;
There are only four female ministers in the new Cabinet as coalition partners keep powerful portfolios for the men. It is even worse in the provinces: of the 67 chief ministers and ministers in the seven provinces before the coalition reshuffle, only 16% were women, mostly state ministers.&nbsp;
Women and minorities continue to be useful only to fill quotas. Even so, there are no Dalits in the Cabinet. Token women are handy like this week in the run up to International Women’s Day on 8 March.&nbsp;
And why must provincial governments have to mirror what happens at the centre? Just because there is regime change in Kathmandu, there is no reason why it has to change in Dhangadi. Why does the NC have to sack Maoist ministers from provinces it governs?&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/old-wine-in-old-bottles">Old wine in old bottles</a>, Editorial
The provinces have been given neither the authority nor revenue to govern properly, while corruption has been decentralised. Federalism so far has been a colossal waste of precious resources, where the centre’s inefficiency, incompetence, poor governance is multiplied by seven.
Top leaders are loath to decentralise, and as this week demonstrated, are more power-hungry than ever before. This is against the spirit of federalism and devolution.
Fortunately, many local governments of municipalities have shown accountability and are trying to improve services. If provinces are just going to be rubber stamps of the centre, then we might as well have a two-tier government with the federal government and local municipalities.&nbsp;
Anything goes in Nepali politics, and in power struggles, all is fair. Governance, transparency and accountability are of no consequence. The lives of ordinary Nepalis do not matter. Prime Minister Dahal and his comrades, new and old, could not have made it clearer with the coalition reshuffle.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/whose-country-is-it-anyway">Whose country is it anyway?</a>, Editorial
Sonia Awale

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What difference does it make?

We are now on Season 3 Episode 1 of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/shadow-government-nepal,3838" target="_blank">Nepal’s promiscuous political </a>saga.&nbsp;
The Maoists and the UML have joined hands for the second time in a year to form a new leftist-led coalition. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre has replaced the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deuba-5-qh371fm4" target="_blank">NC </a>with the UML and the United Socialists.
Dahal may say about the NC having double crossed him, but this was all about ensuring that he remains Prime Minister for another year instead of having to rotate it with Deuba and Nepal before the next election in 2027. Now, he just has to hand over to Oli next year.
This is all déjà vu. Dahal and Oli had a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ on rotating premiership after the 2017 election, and the Maoists merged with the UML to form the NCP. But both ended up stabbing each other in the back, and Oli had to step down. Why should it be any different this time?
The more things change in Nepali politics, the more they remain the same. The same three men of the three main parties have been playing musical chairs for most of the 18 years after the end of the conflict.
The cartoon by Diwakar Chhetri (above) was used in Nepali Times in 2020 when K P Oli was being catapulted to Singha Darbar. For this edition, we just exchanged him for Dahal, added Rabi Lamichhane of the RSP and changed the guy playing marbles to Deuba.
On Wednesday, the new coalition included the Maoists, UML, RSP, CPN (US) with the JSP still undecided. But in Nepal’s cybersphere, there is little excitement that this will change anything and the new lineup has been met mostly with ridicule.
Even a new party like the RSP under Lamichhane is behaving like an old party because he is in a tearing hurry to get on the fast-track to Singha Darbar. He angled for and got the Home Minister’s portfolio, while Barsaman Pun of the Maoists is Finance Minister. The JSP's Upendra Yadav is said to have wanted the Foreign Ministry, but the portfolio went to Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
That this is all about getting to power and staying there could not have been clearer because everyone is angling for the powerful ministries with the biggest discretionary funds.
UML Chief Whip Padam Giri has been named Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affiars after serving just 40 days as Health Minister during the previous Maoist-UML coalition. Hit Bahadur Tamang of the Maoists is Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister. The RSP’s Dol Prasad Aryal returns to the Labour Ministry despite conflict of interest allegations during his last stint because of his alleged involvement in recruitment and remittance companies. &nbsp;
The Unified Socialists say they are getting two ministries, including Federal and Social Service. The RSP’s Sumana Shrestha is Education Minister and Biraj Bhakta Shrestha Youth and Sports.&nbsp;
Lamichhane’s insistence on the Home Ministry portfolio is said to stem from a desire to exculpate himself from multiple controversies about citizenship and his investment in a cooperative that cheated depositors.
Monday’s political earthquake in Kathmandu has sent aftershocks to all seven provincial governments. The provinces all have their own party arithmetics in their assemblies, yet they are unduly impacted by what happens to the federal government. This is not how devolution is supposed to work.
Under federalism, Nepali politics is even more centralised than before with province politicians beholden not just to their party in Kathmandu, but to the head honcho in each of them for instructions. Which is why NC ministers have resigned in Karnali, and the NC controlled provincial governments in Gandaki and Sudur Paschim have sacked Maoist ministers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Unlike the previous coalition, the main parties in the current coalition at least have similar sounding names like Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of Nepal (United Socialists). This could be a formidable leftist front in the 2027 election.
All this must be music to the ears of the Chinese, who have made no secret of their wish that Nepal’s Communists parties should all merge. And if the Chinese want that, then automatically the US-India bloc is not going to be too pleased.
The Maoist-NC coalition was seen to be better suited to India, but while this week’s change would have been a surprise for New Delhi, it may not have been a shock, since it is quite comfortable also with Prime Minister Dahal.

Kunda Dixit

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Catapulting to Singha Darbar

As soon as Nepal’s festival season ended, two opposing political groups took to the streets of Kathmandu in a brewing struggle between pluralism and populism.&nbsp; People bused in by business tycoon and bank defaulter Durga Prasai gathered in Balkhu Thursday for what he called a “citizen’s movement to protect the nation, nationalism, religion and culture”. Prasai has latched on to a political line calling for a return of the monarchy and re-establishing Nepal as a Hindu state.&nbsp; Meanwhile, in Tinkune the UML’s youth wing, the National Youth Federation and former parliamentarian Mahesh Basnet, a close confidante of UML chair KP Oli, gathered to protest what it called the incompetence of the current coalition government.&nbsp; But beneath the surface the simultaneous rallies represented a major falling out between Prasai and the UML.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_e65096fd5cf8b0ccfeec08c27dcd1260db90632724cee8d6e5f4f609f424d3d1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231123111152_e65096fd5cf8b0ccfeec08c27dcd1260db90632724cee8d6e5f4f609f424d3d1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> <figcaption>Photos: GOPEN RAI</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_4f12126c2e0c4bb7b230b6a84369b869153c45ec213e312ab48af52bb8b715f1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231123111152_4f12126c2e0c4bb7b230b6a84369b869153c45ec213e312ab48af52bb8b715f1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_fc3552bc1dc1ef4f7f83b1bb000842b1243f36bc1817793611bacef56fddb5ba.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231123111152_fc3552bc1dc1ef4f7f83b1bb000842b1243f36bc1817793611bacef56fddb5ba" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>  It is not uncommon for Nepalis to gather in masses to protest, but what stood out this time was the government's (and the opposition party’s) response to it.&nbsp; In 2018, Durga Prasai hosted a famous lunch meeting between then-Prime Minister KP Oli and now-Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his residence, playing mediator as they attempted to unite their two parties into the now-defunct NCP and negotiate leadership responsibilities within the new party.&nbsp; Prasai had dealings with Dahal, but the businessman would eventually build close ties with Oli, becoming the leader’s trusted associate. He later became a member of the UML’s Central Committee. But their relationship soured over the years. Prasai, who is significantly in debt after having borrowed to start a hospital in eastern Nepal, has also been leading a public campaign urging bank debtors not to repay loans.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_f3f5a3ea643a93c2881a2d3ca415c3fbead3eb343ef1817077465b9f639c83f2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20231123111152_f3f5a3ea643a93c2881a2d3ca415c3fbead3eb343ef1817077465b9f639c83f2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_526112221cacdb7b421fbc00a896dc5ebde79e1b3f6c6ef0dc2656148227e04f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231123111152_526112221cacdb7b421fbc00a896dc5ebde79e1b3f6c6ef0dc2656148227e04f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>  Many have seen his anti-establishment pivot from party politics as a ploy to get out of paying back the money he owes.&nbsp; Prasai’s strategy seems to be working. Many defaulters affected by the government’s loan policies are said to have supported Prasai’s rally. On Thursday, UML protestors on a bike rally were pelted with stones by the Prasai camp. Protestors in Balkhu also clashed with security personnel. Meanwhile in Tinkune, the designated zone for the UML gathering, the rally was relatively peaceful. “Disenfranchised Nepalis who are not entirely politically aware are frustrated with elected leaders and are looking for reliable leadership,” says political analyst Indra Adhikari. “That is why some are trying to cash in on that frustration and helplessness.” The UML framed its own protest as an attempt to get back in charge of the government, with chair KP Oli seemingly placing the cause of the anti-establishment, pro-monarchy protest on the NC-Maoist led coalition.&nbsp; “The incompetence of this government, which has created an environment conducive to regression and enabled regressive forces, is unacceptable,” said Oli ahead of the planned rally. “If the government cannot function efficiently, those who are leading it must step down.” Oli’s full backing of his youth wing’s attempt to engage with the Prasai-led rally has baffled many. Analysts say Oli may be worried that his soured relationship with Prasai could mean some of the skeletons in his closet could come out. Prasai has accused the UML chair of having massive amounts of properties and investments overseas. &nbsp; “Prasai’s actions in recent times have been a ploy to get himself out of his current financial mess by garnering the support of people who are also indebted to banks,” says analyst Adhikari. She adds, “Why KP Oli has declared a figure like Prasai an equal opponent worthy of giving space, and why the UML has not questioned it, is mind-boggling.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_a52165bc6414f05c978cddde5aa1c77091e964997ad054d98e2170febcfe2f3f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231123111156_a52165bc6414f05c978cddde5aa1c77091e964997ad054d98e2170febcfe2f3f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> <figcaption>The UML's youth wing staged their protest at Tinkune in Kathmandu. Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_18f1c9979ee1360a7dc07ea9770cf486005e63820c5c8c8aee8cdec7d9d0f17b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20231123111156_18f1c9979ee1360a7dc07ea9770cf486005e63820c5c8c8aee8cdec7d9d0f17b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_98590deda64961f5a5c89dca41bc3e78a1677f8d7319abb38b5b88a0daa32698.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231123111156_98590deda64961f5a5c89dca41bc3e78a1677f8d7319abb38b5b88a0daa32698" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>  The pro-monarchy movement has also brought to light burgeoning divisions within the royalist-right RPP. While RPP chair Rajendra Lingden publicly distanced himself from Prasai’s platform, other leaders like Prakash Chandra Lohani and Rabindra Mishra have been more open towards the businessman’s attempt to engage.&nbsp; Nepal’s other mainstream political parties also seem to be keyed into the pulse of increasingly anti-secularist as well as pro-monarchist public opinion. NC chair Sher Bahadur Deuba is said to have spoken out against secularism during a recent party meeting, citing dissatisfaction of a majority of Hindus with Nepal’s secular status.&nbsp; The coalition’s response to the two rallies, meanwhile, has been to further constrict physical as well as digital spaces to protest and dissent, with authorities declaring the area between Maitighar Mandala and New Baneswor a prohibited zone to protests for 30 days. Lalitpur also banned a gathering of more than five people in the Pulchok area for six months. “The government’s security concerns regarding protests and rallies have to come hand-in-hand with the protection of citizens’ rights to assemble and to dissent guaranteed by the Constitution, whichever group they might belong to,” says Adhikari.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_15eb0b3db1cafa0dc9d6412261843e310d0b3a56b42bbf29a38473745a458594.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20231123111156_15eb0b3db1cafa0dc9d6412261843e310d0b3a56b42bbf29a38473745a458594" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_490a5c31694a3649ad23d853600196c6e8c318f1f433fafc7044bc43c75ac917.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20231123111156_490a5c31694a3649ad23d853600196c6e8c318f1f433fafc7044bc43c75ac917" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_bcc5c78539a153c86971cfcaa87488ed140eb987e20a5a3bb72fef1144d54784.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20231123111156_bcc5c78539a153c86971cfcaa87488ed140eb987e20a5a3bb72fef1144d54784" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>  Analysts say that the restrictions on dissent adds to the infringement of free speech already affected by the recent TikTok ban in Nepal. “If we are to ban TikTok, we might as well ban the whole of social media and the internet—Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter have all been similarly misused,” says senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi. Already, there are concerns about censorship. On Wednesday, anchor Bhushan Dahal claimed the AP1 tv had refused to air his interview with Durga Prasai, alarming many and leading the presenter to release the interview on YouTube. Meanwhile, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah has sent a four-point bulletin to the Censor Board, urging it to ‘stop broadcasting content that harms Nepal’s independence and self-respect.’ Says Tripathi: “The remedy to any problem should not be worse than a disease in a democracy— any step taken by the government must be in line with the Constitution, and must not constrict democratic space.”

Shristi Karki

Street politics

If the frequent collapse of the provincial coalition in Kosi is any indication, all is not well in the power dynamics in Nepal’s nine-party governing alliance.
This week, Kedar Karki of Nepali Congress (NC) became the fifth Chief Minister of Kosi Province since elections last November. Karki passed the floor test in the provincial assembly, but with help from the opposition UML. The UML had failed to get enough votes for its own chief minister candidate which precipitated the new election.
This was an embarrassment for Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who had got the coalition at the centre to back fellow comrade Indra Bahadur Angbo. And it was also a blow to NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba.
A dissident faction of the NC not happy with party president Sher Bahadur Debut’s conjugal relationship with the Maoists, got UML backing to support Karki’s chief ministership. Eight NC members from Koirala’s camp and 39 from the UML, which has the majority seats in Kosi provincial assembly, supported Kedar Karki.&nbsp;
What followed was even more intriguing. Prime Minister Dahal and Deuba summoned Shekhar Koirala and tried to convince him to backtrack on Kosi. He refused. But they did manage to convince him not to mess with the coalition setup in return for allowing Karki to be Kosi Chief Minister.
And since Nepali leaders are not best known to keep their word, the three put their deal in writing on a crumpled piece of paper, torn from someone’s copy book, and signed it (pictured).
Kathmandu interfering in Kosi is not new. In fact, the former Kosi Chief Minister Hikmat Karki of the UML was actually backed by the Maoists, despite its alliance with the NC at the centre. Rescinding that support is what led to the current instability.&nbsp;
The background to this back-and-forth is the ethnic debate about whether the province should be called Kosi or Kirat. The matter is such a hot potato that Province 1 was the last of the seven to finally vote on a name (Kosi) last year.&nbsp;
The region’s indigenous groups want a name that reflects their identity, but the various ethnic groups are not united in what that name should be. Prime Minister Dahal made matters more complicated by saying that Kosi should be changed to Kirat.&nbsp;
All this is ammunition for those who want to scrap Nepal’s federalism, saying it is a waste of money, it decentralises corruption and multiplies by seven the disarray at the centre.
However, Nepal’s provinces have never been allowed true autonomy on revenue-raising and decision-making, they have been mere appendages of Kathmandu.
Within the NC, the Kosi debate has brought to the surface the strong feelings about the leadership of the largest party in Parliament shamelessly kowtowing to the third largest party. Leading this dissenting group are Shekhar Koirala and Gagan Thapa, although there is an undercurrent of rivalry to succeed Deuba between them.
So far, the coalition has withstood tensions brought on by controversial provisions in the budget, as well as a series of high profile corruption cases that shook up and implicated the top leadership of all major political parties.&nbsp;
It is clear that Nepal’s governing coalition, especially the alliance between the NC and the Maoists, has remained steadfast because of the sheer opportunism of the leaders in charge of both the parties. (And perhaps a bit of geopolitical goading from the South.)
The aftermath of Dahal’s successful attempt to regain premiership from Deuba last year was a power-sharing deal under which Dahal and Deuba gave each other two years each as PM. As per the deal, Unified Socialist chair Madhav Nepal also gets one year at premiership, which is perhaps why he has gone along with the whims of Dahal and Deuba.
All this horse-trading leaves little time for the coalition to govern. Development is at a standstill, inflation is at an all time high (page 4) and corruption has reached pandemic proportions.&nbsp;
The Dasain mood is subdued. Coalition partners will likely use the holiday to plot, and plot some more. They will face fresh challenges, the biggest being the question whether the alliance will hold together long enough, and if Deuba and Dahal will honour their deal to rotate the prime ministership.
Shristi Karki

Kosi now, Kathmandu next?

In April 2011, Himal Khabar published a list of 51 bills and 10 treaties and agreements registered in the Parliament Secretariat, questioning the effectiveness of the Speaker in Parliament. The Speaker was Subhas Chandra Nembang.&nbsp; The report concluded that the Constituent Assembly and the Legislative Parliament were not constructive as Speaker Nembang had not been able to hold CA members accountable for their wrongdoings.&nbsp; Nembang, to whom the magazine reached out routinely for comment, did not refute the report, or even address it in public. &nbsp; In his 42-year-long political career, Subhas Chandra Nembang was known for his politics of consensus, cooperation, and communication. His personal philosophy of tolerance and accommodation extended not only to politics but also to the media.&nbsp; The UML vice-chair and former Speaker of the House passed away early Tuesday morning due to a heart attack at his Baluwatar residence. He was 71.&nbsp; In an interview about state restructuring, Nembang said in 2009, “It is wisest to analyse Nepal’s circumstances objectively and protect our achievements. Those who are uncompromising in their positions may soon find themselves having missed the forest for the trees.”&nbsp; Many were critical of Nembang’s moderate politics. But over time, his analyses of Nepal’s politics would mostly come to be on the mark. &nbsp; Nembang had the ability to present disagreeable topics in a dignified manner, something that has become uncommon in Nepal’s political leadership. It would not be wrong to call him a gentleman of Nepal's politics. &nbsp; He was among a rare breed of Nepali politicians who understood the dynamics between politics and the press, expressing his respect towards media freedom even when journalists were critical of him. &nbsp; When called on the phone for a quote, he would respond with, “It is much better to speak in person.” &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230912160912_df1d51cc05a1dcba55b1a4eaa9aac9389af9af6fdd00133c10b1d5511b8aaf00.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230912160912_df1d51cc05a1dcba55b1a4eaa9aac9389af9af6fdd00133c10b1d5511b8aaf00" data-rendition-name="original" width="3594" height="2396" loading="lazy" alt="2015 constitution promulgation"> </figure>  Over the years, during meetings at his office in the Parliament building in Baneswor, the Speaker’s residence in Baluwatar, Singha Darbar, the UML party office in Balkhu or his Pioneer Law Associates, the gist of his conversation would always be the same: “Himal, Pahad, Tarai need to unite. There is no alternative to consensus.”&nbsp; Nembang was a shrewd communicator, often telling media personnel during conversations: “Quote me on this, and attribute the rest to ‘sources’”.&nbsp; Nembang was born in 1953 in Ilam’s Suntalabari village. He was politically active in the UML since his student days in 1971 at the Ilam Multipurpose Campus when he was elected chairman of the All Nepal National Free Students Union.&nbsp; Nembang, whose father was a district judge, followed his footsteps into law. As a lawyer, he was general secretary of the Nepal Bar Association in 1987. He was also a faculty at the Kathmandu Law Campus.&nbsp; He was first elected to parliament from Ilam’s second constituency in 1991, and a second time in 1999. He also served as the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in communist Prime Minister Manmohan Adhikari’s government.&nbsp; Nembang served as the Speaker of the House in 2006 and as chair of the Constituent Assembly in both 2008 and 2014. He was also the Speaker in 2015. With his constitutional and legal background, he is also credited with contributing significantly to the promulgation of Nepal’s 2015 Constitution. He became the UML vice-chair in 2018. In November 2022, he was once again elected to parliament from Ilam’s second constituency. He was subsequently the UML nominee for Nepal’s President but lost to coalition presidential candidate Ram Chandra Paudel during the presidential election in March.&nbsp; During his four decades in politics, Nembang cultivated an image of an easy-going, approachable leader, and was seen as a non-confrontational politician who often took the initiative to resolve deadlocks in disputes within the UML, while also crossing ideological lines to mediate among Nepal’s feuding political parties.&nbsp; In an age of cynical, kleptocratic and regressive politics, Nepal will miss Nembang’s gentle ways.&nbsp;

The gentleman of Nepal's politics is gone

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059449c7e80680e0ce1dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="684"/><figcaption>Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>As the results of Sunday’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lower-than-usual-turnout-in-nepal-polls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal and provincial elections</a> trickle in, there are signs that Nepal’s voters have made their dissatisfaction with the country’s serial politicians clear.While early results show that the rivalry between the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML that dates back 30 years is still as fierce as ever, Nepal’s politics may be seeing the dawn of a new era.Heavyweights of established parties trail in several important constituencies, the Maoist-Centre and the Unified Socialists have fared poorly everywhere, the royal-right parties have not got the votes they expected, and the five-party governing coalition is in shambles.The reason for this appears to be mainly that many supporters of the NC and Maoist-Centre voted for independents or rebel candidates, rejecting the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/voters-cynical-about-electoral-alliances/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">alliance of convenience</a> between the right and left-wing parties. Although the UML is also losing a lot of votes to new and independent candidates, the opposition UML appears to have been able to better ride out the storm.Rabi Lamichanne’s newly-minted independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and other independent candidates are also faring well in many constituencies. Even in places where they are not leading, they show that many voters have abandoned the established parties they used to be loyal to. In many ways, election results so far show a rejection by voters of Nepal’s serial politicians.Indeed, many Nepalis did not even bother to vote with Sunday’s polls recording the lowest turnout in recent years at only 61%. In Rolpa where the Maoist insurgency began in 1996, turnout was a mere 40% and it was similar in Gorkha from where Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre is contesting.It may be too early to call this an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/depending-on-independents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘independent wave’</a> in Nepali politics, but the RSP, other independents and younger leaders from the main parties could be the new kingmakers.“From the figures so far, it is clear that the RSP’s strong results show that voters are fed up of the same old faces,” says political analyst Punarjan Acharya.He adds: “It is also clear that the UML has done better than many expected despite internal party strife and having to do battle with the ice-party alliance.”Overnight, Prakash Man Singh of the NC was declared winner in Kathmandu-1, where he narrowly edged our Rabindra Misha by a mere 218 votes. This was a repeat of 2017 when Mishra, who had contested the same constituency from the alternative Bibeksheel Sajha, had lost to Singh by a narrow margin. This is the fourth win for the scion of one of the NC’s founding leaders, Ganesh Man Singh.In Lalitpur-2, UML candidate Prem Bahadur Maharjan received 15,025 votes to beat Sudin Shakya of the new Hamro Nepali Party and Buddha Ratna Maharjan of Rastriya Swatantra Party. Maharjan appears to have benefited from the new smaller parties splitting the votes.Elsewhere in Bhaktapur-2, Durlav Thapa Chettri of NC and Mahesh Basnet of UML are battling it out, but the former is now leading with nearly 1,000 votes more.In one of the earliest outcomes, NC  had a clean sweep in Mustang with Yogesh Gauchan, 29, was elected as the youngest MP so far. The pair of Namdu Gurung and Bikal Sherchan also won provincial seats in Gandaki.The NC  has also managed a provincial seat from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/himalayan-floods-a-sign-of-worse-to-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Manang</a> with Munundra Jung Gurung’s win. Independent Rajiv Gurung has locked in another seat from the district having won unopposed earlier.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059469c7e80680e0ce1e0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="833" height="589"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/639059489c7e80680e0ce1e1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/6390594d9c7e80680e0ce1e2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221207101212/6390594f9c7e80680e0ce1e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Till press time on Tuesday morning, the NC had won three provincial seats and was leading in 45 constituencies while UML has one win with its candidates maintaining their lead in 35 others.The Maoist Centre leads in just 11 areas while the Unified Socialists and RSP with leads in 8 constituencies each. The UML is expected to do better than the NC in seats under the Proportional Representation (PR) mechanism.The RSP is also forecast to add many more PR seats, perhaps even as the fourth-largest party in the new federal Parliament. This is a dramatic rise for a party that was formed only six months ago by charismatic former tv anchor Rabi Lamichhane and who was joined by young and forceful candidates campaigning for good governance, accountability, better service delivery and job-creation.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-balen-the-rabi-phenomenon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rabi Lamichhane</a> himself has fallen behind the NC’s Umesh Shrestha in Chitwan-2, but that could be because the votes so far counted are mainly from coalition strongholds.RSP is, however, leading in Chitwan-2 where Hari Dhakal is ahead of NC’s Biswo Paudel and UML’s Surendra Pandey, the MP from the constituency in 2017. Former House Speaker Onsari Gharti of the Maoist Centre is also trailing behind Rastriya Swatantra Party’s Sobita Gautam in Kathmandu-2.The RSP’s Toshima Karki, a physician, is edging past the UML’s Amrit Khadka to lead in Lalitpur-3. Maoist Centre’s Pampha Bhusal who is also Energy Minister is trailing behind the two.The RSP’s, Shishir Khanal, and education reformer, is far ahead of former police chief Sarbendra Khanal of the UML in Kathmandu-6, and is likely to win. The RSP is also leading in constituencies in Kaski, Jhapa and Rupandehi districts.“The coalition votes were split and scattered. The way I see it, losers this time are Maoist Centre, Unified Socialist, and the Mashes-based JSP and LSP,” says analyst Acharya.He adds that this is the direct result of the Maoist Centre and Unified Socialists (US) seeking more constituencies than their ability. “If the NC had a candidate in 25 more constituencies instead of distributing it to the Maoists and US, it would have ensured a bigger victory for the party,” explains Acharya. “Except now, they have pretty much gifted many of seats to the UML.”Elsewhere, the NC’s General Secretary <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/young-turks-not-getting-their-turn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gagan Thapa</a> looks set to win Kathmandu-4 with UML’s Rajan Bhattarai trailing. Thapa has publicly declared that he would like to be the next prime minister and replace those “who have had many chances in the past to serve the country”.In Kathmandu-7, it looks like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-daughter-also-rises/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Manushi Bhattarai</a> will have a hard time catching up with her rivals — despite support from the coalition. Her father, former Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai had swapped his Gurkha constituency with Pushpa Kamal Dahal to win Maoist support for Manushi.The royal-right Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) chair <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/battle-lines-drawn-for-nepal-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rajendra Prasad Lingden</a> has taken an initial lead in Jhapa-3 where the UML-backed leader is up against the coalition’s Krishna Prasad Sitaula of NC.Uday Shumsher Rana of NC has taken a lead in Lalitpur-1 slightly edging past Nawaraj Silwal of UML. In Kathmandu-5, it’s the battle of new faces with Hamro Nepal Party’s Suman Sayami just ahead of Biraj Bhakta Shrestha of Rastriya Swatantra Party in the vote counting.Erstwhile separatist <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/ck-raut-madhes-movement,1677" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CK Raut</a> has also taken an initial lead in Saptari-2 with Jayprakash Thakur of Lokatantrik Samjbadi and Upendra Yadav of Janata Samajbadi trailing behind. Maoist Centre on the other hand has also taken an initial lead in Jajarkot with Shakti Basnet ahead of Niraj Acharya of UML.

Nepal poll results signal upset

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/6372348b9c7e80680e0c493cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="466"/><figcaption>Pradip Giri, eminent Nepali intellectual and politician passed away on Saturday, aged 74, after a prolonged battle against cancer.</figcaption></figure>When we went to see him in his hospital bed last week, Pradip Giri was unconscious. It looked like this great man, known for struggling all his life for democracy, was now struggling for life.This eminent Nepali intellectual and politician passed away on Saturday night at age 74, after a prolonged battle against cancer. His departure marks the end of an era in Nepal’s political sphere. Giri was one of the few remaining contemporaries of B P Koirala, and one who stayed true to the original social democratic ideology of the Nepali Congress.A vast storehouse of knowledge and experience, a politician with personal rapport across the political spectrum and internationally – Nepali politicians do not come with such honesty and stature anymore.During the absolute monarchy days, I was an editor with a leftist bent. Both the Communists and the Congress were on the same side against the Panchayat system to try to take Nepal into a more democratic era.The Nepali Congress under B P was organising a Satyagraha for democracy. That is when I first met Pradip Giri who was supporting this non-violent protest against the Panchayat, and he encouraged us to form a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/coalition-set-to-snub-president-bhandari/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">common Communist-Congress front</a> against authoritarianism.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/6372348d9c7e80680e0c493djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>Pradipji, dressed all in white, and some other Congress members were just beginning to shout slogans during a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-cycles-of-revolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pro-democracy demonstration</a> that week at a Kathmandu intersection when the police swooped in and took them away to detention.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/one-moment-30-years-ago-today/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The People’s Movement</a> was ultimately successful, and multi-party democracy was restored in 1990. We used to meet often with Pradipji, and the subject of discussion ranged from the Gandhian philosophy of non-violent struggle, to capitalism, socialism, Marxism-Leninism – but also about literature and the arts.Pradip Giri may not have been a Communist, but knew more about Marxism than committed leftist ideologues. He had studied the communist international movement, and had even written a book about Lenin.In the first democratic election after the fall of the Panchayat in 1992, I won the election from Lalitpur and Pradip Giri became an MP from Siraha district. Our cross-party discussions continued in the canteen of Parliament over tea and snacks even as the polarisation between the UML and the NC grew in the mid-1990s.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234919c7e80680e0c493ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>Pradip Giri was known as a great orator. Not fiery, but someone who spoke with great authority and with deep conviction about making democracy work in practice to raise living standards. He was also known for low attendance in the House, so it was difficult to track him down.Pradip Giri had a frugal lifestyle, and was true to his Gandhian belief. He never hankered for power or position, which was so unlike many politicians then and now.  He was also not a very organised man, neither professionally nor in his personal life. I even broached this subject with him once, telling him: “Your life is not very disciplined, Pradipji, it is almost like you are an anarchist.”Of course, Pradip Giri did not change. He was as disorganized as ever, but continued to be the conscience of his party, and of Nepali politics even as the parties drifted away from the moral tenets of what democracy should be in spirit and practice. Which is why Pradip Giri was apart among Nepali politicians, he stood above them, he was made of different stuff.Although he had the intellectual ability to debate with B P Koirala, the family never really trusted him when the NC leadership was living in exile in Banaras. Back in Nepal after 1990, Giri was therefore identified more with the Ganesh Man Singh and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai wing of the party. And it was because of his firm belief that Nepal’s Communists and Congress should work together that I got to be close to him.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234949c7e80680e0c493fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>Even though he was never really accepted by the Koirala clan, Pradip Giri did more to propagate BP’s ideals than any of his family members, or others who called themselves Kangresi. His book, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइरालाः व्यक्तित्व र विचार is an important text for all those who want to understand BP’s persona and thought. He went on to edit anthologies of<a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/last-days-with-bp-koirala/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> BP Koirala’s writings</a>, speeches, interviews.Even though he was respected within the NC, and party faithful all listened intently when he spoke, no one really followed him. It was because Pradip Giri was not distributing perks and favours. The more distorted Nepali politics became, and as the NC distanced itself from its founding principles, Pradip Giri’s puritanical belief in socialism with a human face became more and more a cry in the wilderness.There are few Nepali politicians who read, write or think. There are even fewer such people in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-mixed-report-card/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Nepali Congress leadership</a> today. Few have Giri’s ability for academic discourse that rises above party lines and political polarisation. He was all the more convincing because he readily admitted to mistakes, showed humility in personal interactions, and had the ability, unique to contemporary politicians, to listen to others.Pradip Giri did not want to talk about the operational strategy of politics, and about who was back-stabbing whom. He was above all that, and it almost felt like even though he was a politician, politics was beneath him. Often, he was most critical about his own party’s policies.‘Struggle’ could have been Pradip Giri’s middle name. For him, it was always about struggle. He thrived in struggle. He was in the NC Central Committee, and one of few who spoke what was in his mind without mincing words about the struggle steer the party back to BP.Pradip Giri also struggled till the end in his hospital bed, as he fought his cancer, and later pneumonia.  He would have been the first to explain how death is a part and parcel of life. If he had come out of it, I would have liked to sit down with Pradip Giri one more time in the Parliament canteen to discuss the reality of mortality.Raghu Panta is a former Minister and a Standing Committee member of the CPN-UML.  Pradip Giri’s body will lie in state at the Nepali Congress office in Sanepa till 2PM on Sunday before cremation at Pashupati.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3458#.YwG26XZBy3A">Yes to constituent assembly</a>, Pradip Giri

Pradip Giri, the passing of an iconoclast

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111144/63721cca9c7e80680e0bd4adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVES</figcaption></figure>Some members of the ruling coalition are still trying to postpone <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/volatile-mix-of-politics-and-religion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">local elections</a> slated for 13 May citing the country’s economic crisis, but preparations are too far done to put it off now.The main contest will be between the Nepali Congress (NC) and the opposition UML. Which is why the smaller members of the governing alliance are getting <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dance-of-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cold feet</a>.The UML and Maoist alliance swept the 2017 federal and provincial elections, but the Nepal Communist Party has since splintered, with the UML also breaking in two. All this is good news for the NC.Party alliances are less important in local elections, which is why <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/can-nepal-elections-change-its-male-stream-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women and new voters</a> who are not loyal to any parties will be making their presence felt in May.“We have seen that 75-80% of voters close their eyes and cast their ballots out of party loyalty, but 25-30% vote independently,” says former Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel. “These silent voters will be decisive in a close election.”There was an indication of this trend in the 2017 Kathmandu mayoral race, when the relatively unknown <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/05/19/the-ranju-darshana-phenomenon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ranju Darshana </a>of the alternative Bibeksheel Party came out of nowhere to get the third highest number of votes.“I think there are more and more voters who do not fall for the false promises of established parties and feel free to vote with their conscience,” says Kishor Thapa, also a mayoral candidate from the Sajha Party in the Kathmandu polls in 2017.The trend has always been that while political parties command vote banks during national elections, many vote independently during local polls. There were many cases in the municipal and ward voting in 2017 where party alliances did not ensure victory for candidates.“Political parties are making grand nationwide alliances, but in local elections <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/local-government-by-the-people-for-the-people-of-the-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">voters look at their own towns or cities</a> and decide who can best serve them,” explains social scientist Suresh Dhakal.Next month’s local elections will be the second under the federal system, and voters have had the past five years <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-local-election-gives-power-back-to-people/">to judge the performance of mayors and municipality chairs</a>. If they have done a good job and are standing again, this time they may be rewarded with votes from supporters of other parties.The make-or-break issue in this election could be that there are 220,000 new young voters compared to 2017, with a total of 17,733,726 registered voters. While many of these Gen Z voters are expected to vote against established parties, they also tend to be disillusioned with politics and many do not vote.Which is why the predominant narrative against the main parties on the social web may not be reflected in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/think-nationally-vote-locally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">voting patterns and election results.</a> Voters younger than 23 therefore need to analyse the performance of parties, and not just believe the campaign speeches of candidates.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Between-the-lines/Bibeksheel-Nepali-work-post-earthquake-nepal,490" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alternative parties like Bibeksheel Sajha</a> targetted young voters and tried to imitate the success of the Aam Aadmi Party in India. However personality clashes within them, and their alignment with royalist-religious forces may turn many young voters off.“Despite all their problems, the established parties did<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-democracy-too-expensive-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> struggle to restore democracy,</a>” explains political analyst Puranjan Acharya. “The so-called alternative parties turned out to be regressive and traditional.”The most dramatic change in forthcoming elections this year could be the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/reward-performance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">confidence of women candidates for local governments</a>, as well as the empowerment of women voters throughout the country. Women who had been involved in community forestry user groups, drinking water supply, against domestic violence and other social issues are now active in local politics.“It is not just happening in urban areas, women are now much more aggressive at the grassroots and are demanding accountability from leaders,” says Suresh Dhakal.The 2015 Constitution mandated that the deputy mayor had to be a woman if the mayor was a man, and there had to be women and Dalit women members of elected ward councils.In 2017, many women voters said they cast their ballots for women candidates no matter which party they were from. Although this trend is expected to spread, there may be fewer women candidates this time because of the electoral alliances to field common candidates.There are now seven women mayors out of 293, and 19 female chairs of municipalities out of 460. Out of 6,743 wards, only 61 chairs are women. This shows that even though female membership of local councils has gone up, the executive positions are still predominantly male.Political analyst Indra Adhikari says that women have shown in the past five years that they can be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/clean-up-elections-to-clean-up-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">accountable leaders</a> responsive to public needs, now they need to be re-elected to head at least one-third of the municipalities and wards,” she adds.Devolution expert Krishna Prasad Sapkota agrees: “The election of women to municipalities and wards has had a positive impact on local governance, parties have to be careful to include women candidates in their ticket list.”

Turning a new leaf in 2079

<figure><img width="2250" height="3149" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203509c7e80680e0b2800jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: SWORUP NHASIJU</figcaption></figure>On 26 January, Nepal will elect 20 members to the National Assembly to replace those  retiring from the Upper House following the end of their four-year terms, marking the beginning of the second series of elections under the federal system. Leaders of the governing five-party coalition have already divided up the 19 electable seats amongst themselves, and appointed their nominees – making it certain they will win. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/tis-the-season-of-conventions-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">general conventions </a>of three of Nepal’s biggest and most influential parties in the last months, which were mini elections unto themselves, marked the beginning of campaigning for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-eyes-on-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">local and federal elections</a> in the coming year. All major parties including the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-congress-party-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali Congress</a> (MC), <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-convention-uml-eyes-set-on-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UML</a> and the Maoist Centre (MC) retained their gerontocracies.Preparations are now underway for local elections, which the Election Commission has recommended should be held on 27 April across the country. Nepal conducted its first legislative assembly elections as a multiparty system in 1959. Since then, there have been 10 elections for the National Legislature, with the 2017 general elections being the first of its kind after the country ushered in federalism. The year also marked the first time sub-national elections were held in 20 years.There were 14.2 million ballots cast during local elections in May 2017. However, the number jumped to 15.4 million in provincial and parliamentary elections in November the same year. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-eyes-on-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">All eyes on 2023</a>, Mukesh PokharelIn March 2021, the Election Commission stopped voter registration and published an updated list of 16.2 million voters after former Prime Minister <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/oli-sweeps-uml-party-polls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">K P Oli</a> dissolved Parliament and announced early elections. The registration process resumed after the Supreme Court reinstated the house in July.And right after the Election Commission announced the National Assembly polls in November, it also announced the beginning of a month-long special voter registration program during which an additional 600,000 Nepalis registered.  As elections approach, Nepal’s political discourse is already dominated by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/volatile-mix-of-politics-and-religion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">parties stoking nationalistic and religious fervour</a>.  This has made for surprising political partnerships, with the Hindu-right and leadership from self-proclaimed ‘alternative’ parties uniting in their rejection of federalism, secularism and even republicanism.And if their <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unconventional-party-conventions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">general conventions </a> were any indication, the parties will use this rhetoric to vilify opponents and gain voters at the expense of issues most pertinent to the people, such as education, migration, healthcare, the economy and the pandemic. <img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203539c7e80680e0b2801jpeg.jpg" alt="">In an ideal democracy, elections force public officials to be accountable. Candidates are elected based on promise of performance. But in Nepal, the polling system itself lacks transparency -- right from election funding. But electoral reform measures like re-demarcation of constituencies based on population, polling systems and voting rights of diaspora Nepalis who cannot cast votes in person, remain neglected.There has been much back and forth about the demarcation of election constituencies. While Article 286 (5) of Nepal’s Constitution states that the delineation should be done on the basis of population and geography, Madhes-based activists have pressed for constituencies to be divided on the basis of the population only.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/battle-lines-drawn-for-nepal-elections/">Battle lines drawn for Nepal elections</a>, EditorialThe government formed a five-member Constituency Delimitation Commission to look into possible rearrangement of constituencies for the federal and provincial elections in July 2017. The commission demarcated constituencies by giving 90% weightage to population size and 10% to geography.Govind Subedi, a professor of population studies at Tribhuvan University, has argued that recent practices have gone in the ‘wrong direction’. He writes in his book Political Demography of Nepal: 'The uneven distribution of representatives … is likely to increase if we adopt a population-size only-method [of delineation] … it can have a far-reaching implication in the geo-polity of Nepal.'Subedi, who was an adviser to the Commission, continues: ‘It is more likely that the sparsely populated districts in provinces which lie in the western mountains and the far western region will feel regional imbalances in sharing of political power in the national polity, which in turn may lead to provincial conflicts in the years to come.’Furthermore, Nepal’s election laws are lax enough that the wealthiest in the country who previously bankrolled parties in exchange for personal, professional and policy favours have<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/purchasing-power/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> entered politics themselves</a>. The number of businessmen and contractors elected into leadership in 2017 proves that money, not political competency, decides who is ultimately elected to lead. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-democracy-too-expensive-for-nepal/">Is democracy too expensive for Nepal?</a>, Laxmi BasnetIndeed, the First Past the Post (FPTP) system has become a hotbed for corruption by businessmen, thus undermining democracy, say election experts. Prominent leaders from across the political aisle, particularly women elected into office like Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Uma Regmi, have spoken in support of an overhaul of Nepal’s current election system into a fully proportional electoral system after having experienced firsthand how the current system <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-business-of-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">benefits the rich, powerful and the establishment</a>, while they are burdened with election debt long after they have left office.Former Acting Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission Dolakh Bahadur Gurung says that the reform should be such that MPs are not allowed to become ministers, and term limits must be set so that the same people do not hold on to their seats until they are 90 years old. ‘Our Constitution has been amended a fair number of times,’ wrote Gurung in October, ‘it is not impossible to reform our electoral system.’Meanwhile, the debate about mailed ballots and absentee voting has gained much traction among the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-year-of-migrant-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali diaspora</a> in recent years. An estimated 4 million Nepalis work, study and live in India, the Gulf, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Europe and North America.The Supreme Court issued a directive to facilitate voting for Nepali diaspora across the world in March 2018. However, successive governments have shown no interest in ensuring voting rights for millions of eligible voters living overseas.And even as the government has begun to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/its-in-the-mail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expand the reach of its archaic postal service</a> by delivering items like passports to people’s homes, it has not considered postal voting to keep the service relevant. The political establishment seems to fear that Nepalis in the Gulf and Malaysia are fed up with the government back home, and allowing them to vote by mail will be predominantly anti-incumbent.  The Sweden-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) says 151 of 216 countries around the world allow voters living abroad to cast ballots in some capacity. According to the Election Integrity Project, 40 countries used postal ballots in their most recent national election before the Covid outbreak.Nilkantha Uprety, the former Chief Election Commissioner, believes there are two options to eliminate election irregularities. Firstly, there must be an improvement from within parties and candidates such that undemocratic practices are turned into fair competition during elections.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-business-of-politics-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The business of politics in Nepal</a>, Shekhar Kharel‘But since it is not easy to achieve that, the second option is to radically change our current electoral system, and it would be unwise to delay in choosing which of the two options is more convenient and effective,’ he warned in a<a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/127010" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> recent op-ed</a> in Himal magazine.Uprety also noted that in the end, the electoral system does not matter as much as the people involved in the elections.‘Elections can be free and fair regardless of the electoral system if political parties are democratic, candidates are committed, and there is a guarantee of good governance,’ he wrote. ‘Ultimately, elections can only be successful if the majority of voters make informed choices about the parties and candidates instead of only being interested in when and where to show up to vote.’ Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-rudderless-political-leadership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s rudderless political leadership</a>, Santa Gaha Magar

Clean up elections to clean up politics

<figure><img width="3600" height="2193" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f1e9c7e80680e0af44ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>After Nepal’s three major political parties held long overdue <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unconventional-party-conventions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">party conventions</a>,  it was the turn this week of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre). But the question of who will lead a party that waged a ten-year war is a foregone conclusion.Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who had the nom de guerre ‘Prachanda’  when the Maoists waged their armed struggle from 1996-2006, is the undisputed leader, even through there are grumblings within the party that he is adhering to a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pushpa-kamal-dahal-is-still-prachanda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cult of personality</a>.In fact, after hefty criticism on social media, the party on Monday took down a larger than life cutout of Dahal at the convention venue at the Nepal Academy in Kamaladi.On Sunday, the party’s 8th general convention was inaugurated in the presence of political leaders from across the political spectrum. Dahal’s former comrade-at-arms K P Oli of the UML, whom he unseated as prime minister earlier this year, did not attend – just as Dahal had skipped the UML’s convention in Chitwan last month.The assembly of Nepal’s third-largest political party, rebranded ‘general convention’ from ‘national conference’ only a day before the event was set to begin, has put Nepalis into an election frame of mind. Indeed, the speeches at the inauguration were all election pitches by Prime Minsiter Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress, Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Unified Socialists and Shankhar Pokharel, the UML General Secretary.A total of 1,631 delegates from across the country are present at the three-day convention, and will elect the Maoist party chairman, 15 office bearers, and a 299-member Central Committee. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-eyes-on-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">All eyes on 2023</a>, Mukesh PokharelThe standing committee meeting that decided to rebrand the Maoist conclave as a general convention also changed the number of office bearers ahead of the convention,  which means that the leadership will include the chairman, one senior vice-chairman, six vice-chairmen, one general secretary, two deputy general secretaries, three secretaries and a treasurer. Earlier, the Maoists had a senior vice president and deputy secretary general.Even as the party increases its leadership seats, the Maoist convention, like the UML and NC <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-congress-party-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">conclaves that preceded it</a>, is set to reaffirm that Nepal’s politics will still be guided by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/oli-sweeps-uml-party-polls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">veteran politicians unwilling to give up their seats of power</a> -- at least until the next five years. The only outlier was the Hindu-right RPP, which replaced veteran Kamal Thapa with new comer Rajendra Lingden.Insiders have accused Dahal of repeatedly sidelining rivals within the Maoist party, but he is set to be elected party chair for another five years. Narayan Kaji Shrestha on Monday announced his bid for party leadership in a closed-session, but he does not stand a chance.Dahal has been so adept that removing rivals for leadership that many like Baburam Bhattarai and other comrades have left to join other parties.  In his remarks before the convention, Dahal struck an introspective tone while also urging party members to reflect on the Maoists’ journey, and the mistakes made from the armed insurgency to the present.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-rudderless-political-leadership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's rudderless political leadership</a>, Santa Gaha Magar “Party cadres as well as the Nepali people have begun to feel shortcomings of the part of the political leadership,” Dahal said before the convention, “I am morally responsible for these shortcomings, and I will begin with self-reflection.  All of us need to introspect.”Meanwhile, political leadership from other political parties made notable remarks on issues ranging from the much-contested Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to social and transitional justice to  Maoist reunification.Prime Minister Deuba, recently re-elected party leader at his own NC general convention, maintained that the MCC would be ratified in Parliament soon, while seeming to pointedly address Dahal as he urged the detractors of the MCC to “actually read and be informed on the terms of the MCC before branding it as anti-national, traitorous, and against the interest of the country”. Deuba softened the blow, however,  by lauding Dahal’s “great contribution to Nepali politics … it was under your leadership that we held the election of the Constituent assembly and ultimately drafted our Constitution”.Read also: <a style="font-weight: 600;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/battle-lines-drawn-for-nepal-elections/">Battle lines drawn for Nepal elections</a>, Nepali Times<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/political-expediency-trumps-nepal-constitution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Newly-minted CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman</a> Madhav Kumar Nepal struck a similar tone as Dahal in his remarks saying that all the political parties need to introspect. “We have failed to address the people’s problems,” he said. “We need to reflect on where we went wrong.”Meanwhile, CP Gajurel, Vice Chairman of the CPN (Revolutionary Maoist), a breakaway faction of the Maoists formed under leader Mohan Baidya,  said that the time has come for Nepal’s Maoists to reunite. Rastriya Janamorcha vice-chairperson Durga Poudel, speaking about the rise in voices against republicanism and secularism, spoke of the importance of a united front to defeat political regression. JSP Chairman Upendra Yadav said that Nepal would not prosper until all forms of discrimination end, saying that issues of the emancipation of Madhesi, Adivasi, Janajati, Dalit and minority communities linked with the People’s Movement of 2006 were still neglected. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-democracy-too-expensive-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Is democracy too expensive for Nepal</a>?Even though the UML’s Oli did not attend the convention, he is said to have called Dahal on the phone. The UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel regretted the failure to maintain the unity of the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP) which comprised the UML and the Maoists.On Monday, Dahal presented his political report titled The Path to Socialism in the 21st Century before the seven-member closed-session that includes Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, Ganesh Shah, Parshuram Tamang, Parshuram Ramtel, Purna Kumari Subedi and Rupa Shrestha Maharjan.The Maoist Chairman also spoke at length about the need to resume ’Prachandapath’— his guideline to Maoist cadres on achieving a successful revolution that was discontinued after the introduction of the peace process, as well as the need to achieve ‘scientific socialism’ through  a peaceful movement.“The document includes reviews of where we went wrong in the past in terms of ideas, organization, structure building, and strategy,” Dahal had said on Sunday.Indeed, analysts have previously attributed the failure of the Maoists to rise to national stature to Dahal’s disinterest in building any kind of functional institutional party structure.Read also: <a style="font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/purchasing-power/">Purchasing power</a>, Ramesh Kumar

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