Pangs of Democratic Mandate and New Nepal

On April 10, 2008 the people of Nepal gave a stunningly clear verdict concerning their choice of candidates and the political parties to draft a new inclusive constitution that is fair and far reaching in the best interest of all the people whether they live in the mountains, hill or Tarai-Madhes. The overconfident losers, particularly the Nepali Congress (NC) and the United Marxists Leninists (UML), and the uncertain winner, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) –CPN (M), continue to be in the unexpected pangs of pain and pleasures respectively.

By Dr. Som Prasad Pudasaini

Democracy is a system of governance in which sovereign people exercise their rights of electing or rejecting their representatives with astonishingly surprising manner that is painful and shocking to an overconfident loser and exhilarating to an unsure winner. The pangs of a democratic mandate delivered by the people must be magnanimously accepted and respected by candidates, political parties or civil society if a competitive politics or democracy is to be genuinely institutionalised. Any genuine electoral grievances can be addressed to appropriate authorities such as the Election Commission and the Constitutional Court for proper resolution. Upon their verdict based on the law of the land any grumbling by any party represents the "grapes are sour when one can't have it".

On April 10, 2008 the people of Nepal gave a stunningly clear verdict concerning their choice of candidates and the political parties to draft a new inclusive constitution that is fair and far reaching in the best interest of all the people whether they live in the mountains, hill or Tarai-Madhes. The overconfident losers, particularly the Nepali Congress (NC) and the United Marxists Leninists (UML), and the uncertain winner, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) –CPN (M), continue to be in the unexpected pangs of pain and pleasures respectively.

The Election Commission (EC) ordered re-polling in over ten dozen booths have taken care of grievances raised by many candidates and political parties. The elections were declared largely peaceful and fair by national and international observers; including by the UN. My own election observation in the Central and the Mid- Western region and the interactions with a broad spectrum of political party workers during the polls makes me comfortable to state that the polls were largely peaceful and acceptable by any South Asian or even global standards.

Undeniably, cases of intimidation, forged voting and violation of the election code of conduct were observed and reported from across the country. All the political players used their persuasion, money and muscle to varying degrees to ensure their victory. Some were better organised and committed than others in both the fair and unfair practices. Lessons can be learned for corrective actions in the future and the mandate of the people is there to be accepted.

In terms of numbers, the CPN (M) have won 120 of the 240 seats under the First-Past-The –Post (FPTP) system and slightly less than 30 percent of votes under the Proportional (PR) System. CPN (M) has, thus, emerged as the largest party. It will be followed by NC with 37 FPTP and over 21 percent PR votes and the UML with 33 FPTP and over 20 percent PR votes. The Madhesh Janadhikar Forum (MJF) garnered 30 FPTP seats and 5.8 percent of PR votes and the Tarai Madhesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP) won 9 FPTP and 2.8 percent of the PR votes largely due to their strengths in the eastern and the central Tarai. No FPTP seats were won by the three ex-panchayat parties (RPP, RJP and RPP-Nepal), while their final vote share under the PR is less than 5 percent.

The key discernible characteristic of the people's mandate is that 61 percent of the eligible voters (17.6 million) utilised their rights and about 5 percent of the vote cast was invalid. The proportion of the vote invalid was the highest compared to the past three parliamentary elections. The last one in 1999 had 2.75 percent of the invalid votes. Inadequate voters' education, particularly about the two ballots necessitated by the mixed election system, appears to be among the key reasons for the higher invalid votes.

The other aspect was the election of an overwhelming number of Janajatis and Madhesis compared to the past. The number of women elected also increased but was nowhere close to the 33 percent aimed or over 50 percent of the population they comprise of. Almost all the stinkingly corrupt, arrogant and stale politicians across the political parties were defeated under the FPTP. But quite a few of such characters may get entry through the crafty work of the party's Central Committees under PR System.

Dynastic designs of the political parties also got a massive jolt as the family members and relatives of key leaders, particularly the Koirala clan, were rejected by the voters. However, it is not the end of the clan oriented politics as the Deubas, the Bhattarais, the Dahals and others are likely to appear in husband-wife, father-daughter or other combinations when the final PR list is disclosed.

The outcome of the CA election clearly reflects the people's desire for change, peace and stability. Janjatis, Madhesis and other marginalized groups now can play a significant role in shaping an inclusive, forward-looking and harmonious "New Nepal" by constructively and boldly contributing in the formulation of a new constitution through their elected CA representatives. The 26 remaining CA members to be nominated by the cabinet must also not fail to bring in the deserving candidates of the other marginalized groups unable to reach the CA through the April 10 elections in line with the true spirit of the Interim Constitution (IC).

Nepal has now attained three major successes towards building a peaceful, stable and democratic nation. The first was a successful Janandolan-II in April 2006. The second was a comprehensive peace agreement in November 2006 and the interim constitution/ government that followed. The third and most difficult was holding of the twice postponed CA on April 10, 2008. Two bigger hurdles are still on the way of building an inclusive and prosperous New Nepal or the "Federal Democratic Republic" as stated under the IC.

One is the successful formulation of a new constitution within two to two and half years as stipulated in the IC. This will require a continuing culture of give and take among the four key domestic political players namely CPN (M), NC, MPRF and UML if not more. Additionally, external actors, particularly India, US and China, will have to be pragmatically engaged. Two, a fair and free parliamentary election will have to be held after the new constitution is formulated to end the political transition and move to a normal governance process.

The most important and difficult aspect of constitution making is likely to be finding a right form of "Federal Structure" suited to the need of multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Nepal with complex geography and uneven resource distribution. What would be an administratively, economically and politically viable and stable federation that meets the genuine aspirations of all people is a difficult but an unavoidable question that the CA members will have to address unfailingly. The chances for building inclusive and prosperous Nepal have never been better. But the road to the destination is likely to be even bumpier. The 601 member CA, particularly the CPN (M), must work towards it with adequate wisdom, magnanimity and tolerance.

(Dr. Pudasaini is a National CA Election Observer, GEOC and Executive Member of the Nepal Council of World Affairs. He can be contacted at: som.pudasaini@gmail.com)

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to editors@mos.com.np)

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