A Handbook For Elections
A comprehensive guidebook on anyone interested in electoral system and democracy
Elections are central to a democratic system. In Nepal , the last participatory elections were held in 1999. After that neither the elections to the House of Representatives nor the elections to local bodies like Village Development Committee (VDC), municipalities (barring the elections held in February 2006 that was boycotted by the major political parties) and District Development Committee (DDC) could be held.
The absence of elected representatives in the seats of governance has created a vacuum in which all kinds of elements have flourished. The deteriorating situation of democracy in the last three years is ample proof how the system degenerates in the absence of regular elections.
Quite evidently, the lack of elected parliament is the cardinal reason why unaccountable persons are governing the country. And it is due to the absence of elections that the constitution is not becoming fully functional.
Being the lifeline of democracy, elections that are free, fair and participatory are of utmost importance. For a country like Nepal that is suffering from violence, killings, political and constitutional conflicts, such elections could provide a healing touch and start a process of normalization.
With the objective of familiarizing Nepali people, officials and policy-makers about various types of electoral systems that are practiced in different parts of the world, Enabling State Programme (ESP) of Department for International Development (DfID) has brought out a translation of a handbook on electoral systems that was first published by International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). With the technical and editorial input of a team of translators and experts from Rural Development Foundation, the book has been released recently.
Since 1990, Nepal has been following the British Westminster style of parliamentary democracy in which elections are held on the basis of first-past-the-post (or winner take all) system in which the candidate securing majority of votes cast wins the poll. However, there are other many different kinds of electoral systems in practice like proportional and mixed electoral systems where voters can elect candidates on the basis of order of preferences.
The book is a useful guide to researchers, professors, political scientists, students, politicians and administrators to obtain knowledge on different electoral practices and weigh the pros and cons of each of these practices.
The book is divided into different chapters that deal with issues like concept of electoral practices, their usages, methods, relevancy and rationale.
The book elaborates on how the specific electoral practices ensure that the government is accountable to the voters. It defines in detail different electoral practices and how they are being exercised in different countries.
Another invaluable aspect of the book is the case studies. They show how the electoral systems work in different settings, different cultures and different countries. These case studies offer possibilities of sharing the experiences of various countries that pursue different electoral practices.
By translating the book into Nepali language, the ESP and RDF have done a commendable job. The translation is good and easily understandable though the jargons used in some places are difficult to comprehend for ordinary readers.
As the book has been published at a time when Nepal is passing through extremely difficult stage with democratic institutions remaining derailed, it shows the commitment and goodwill of international organizations like ESP-DfID to help the country get back to democratic path.
Besides, at a time when the country is engaged in debates on constitutional amendment or even replacement, the thoughts and experiences of various electoral practices could provide a basis for discussion to initiate reforms on our own electoral practices to better represent the ethnic, gender and regional diversities of the country for the sake of healthy and inclusive democracy.
