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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
EXPIRY OF LOCAL
BODIES' TENURE The five-year tenure of
local bodies expired on July 16 but the government has yet to make an alternative
arrangement. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has proposed an all-party committee as a
temporary arrangement. Since there are no clear legal provisions on forming such
committees or to appoint civil servants, the government's proposal cannot cover its act of
constitutional delinquency. If the prime minister knew that he couldn't deliver effective
administration without filling the local bodies, why didn't he choose the easy option of
extending the tenure of local elected representatives? Whatever step the government takes,
its action has already damaged the institutionalization process of local bodies and has
sent a wrong message that they cannot be stable representative institutions By KESHAB POUDEL Some villagers of Chipchipe Village
Development Committee (VDC) of Tanahu district trekked two days to the district
headquarters, Damauli, a small town 175 km west of Kathmandu, to get their citizenship
certificates. But they were compelled to return empty handed. According to the Nepal Citizenship Act,
every Nepali requires the recommendation of the chairman of the VDC or municipal
representative to apply for the citizenship certificate. In absence of local bodies, the
people has to go to the district headquarters for small but essential tasks like legal
registration of deaths, births and marriage as well as settlement of local disputes. After the five-year term of the local
bodies expired on July 16, people in almost all VDCs are facing many problems. As the laws
are unclear about the "other alternatives" to be taken in case of failure to
hold new elections, there is a clear possibility of greater legal complications after the
formation of ad-hoc committees.
Along with day-to-day works, many
development activities come to a standstill. The construction of the Bishnumati river
corridor road has stopped and other development works in Kathmandu metropolitan area have
been similarly affected. There have been delays in the collection of solid waste from
Lalitpur sub-municipality area. The expansion work of the Pharping-Makwanpur road, the
shorter alternative road to Hetauda, seems to have plunged into uncertainty. From villages to municipalities to the
district level, there has been a disruption in development activities, such as the
construction of roads, drinking water projects, small hydropower plants, school buildings
and bridges. Since the government has not given the slightest indication of when it
intends to hold new local elections, grassroots governance fall into the hands of
unelected and unaccountable groups of political workers or civil servants. Constitutional and Legal Provision The constitution guarantees the convening
of a new House of Representatives within six months following the dissolution of the last
one. The date for the elections of 3,914 VDCs, one metropolitan and four sub-metropolitan
and 53 municipalities and 75 District Development Committees (DDCs) is uncertain. Once the tenure expires, it is up to the
government to announce new elections. Unlike its predecessor, the democratic Constitution
of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 does not guarantee the term of the local bodies. Understanding their influential role in the
grass-roots level, the constitution has given local bodies the right to select 15 out of
the 60 members of the upper chamber of parliament, the National Assembly. This is the only
article that offers constitutional protection for local bodies. Every government is
compelled to conduct elections periodically to organize voters of National Assembly. According to Article 46(c) of the
constitution, 15 members, three from each of the five development regions, are to be
elected in accordance with law on the basis of the system of single transferable vote by
an electoral college consisting of the chief and the deputy chief of the village- and
town-level local authorities and the chief, deputy chief and the members of the
district-level local authorities.
The Local Self-Government Act 1998
has set several conditions to prevent possible arbitrary actions against the local bodies
by the government. In case of suspension or dissolution, the government has to table the
relevant order and its reason in both houses of parliament. At the time of announcing the
order, the government has to call fresh elections within a year. The weak point of the act is its vagueness
on what to do after the expiry of its five-year tenure. Even before the expiry, the
government can extend the tenure of the existing representatives or implement "other
ways" in case such specific conditions as natural calamities or economic disarray
preclude the holding of fresh elections. Although the act does not specifically
defined "other ways", the government is interpreting to suit its interest by
proposing to set up all-party committees or to appoint civil servant to run the local
bodies. Many feel the government is interested in derailing the local bodies. Empty Bodies Following the expiry of five-year tenure of
the elected village, municipal and district representatives at the stroke of midnight on
July 16, the local units suddenly found themselves without popular roots. Along with
day-to-day normal procedures, many development activities are stalled and large segments
of the population are in a state of utter confusion. Although the Ministry of Local Development
is yet to provide a legal justification for deciding not to extend the tenure, nobody
knows how the government intends to make arrangements to replace the 213,922 elected
representatives. By not exercising the legal provisions of extending the tenure for a
year, the government has opened itself to accusations of undermining the principles and
procedures of democracy and development at the grass-roots level. "Since the dissolved local bodies were
elected after CPN-UML leader Bam Dev Gautam, as deputy prime minister and home minister,
misused government authority, we had no alternative to allowing them to expire," said
Minister of Home and Local Development Khum Bahadur Khadka. "We will make alternative
arrangements." That prompted a fierce response from UML
leaders who said the government was only trying to cover up its anti-democratic
tendencies. The hollowness of Khadka's argument is exposed by the failure of the Nepali
Congress government to make any effort to dissolve the local bodies and call a fresh poll
during its three years in power. "If these bodies were the result of political
rigging, why didn't any Nepali Congress government dissolve them? asks Rajendra Pandey,
head of the UML's Department of Local Development. King Mahendra's Contribution During Nepal's five-decade experience with
local bodies, there have been frequent disturbances in the process of evolution. Although
public discussions focus heavily on his motives for abolishing the multiparty system in
December 1960, late King Mahendra was the father of local representative democracy. After
outlawing party politics at the central level, King Mahendra took firm steps toward
institutionalizing representative local bodies. The Panchayat system was full of
representatives at the local level. Despite limits on democratic exercise at the central
level, villages, towns and districts - and at one point zones - enjoyed full
representative democracy with a mixture of periodic direct and indirect elections. The second amendment to the Panchayat
constitution in 1975 granted local bodies constitutional status, which served to enhance
their strength. Most of today's voters and political actors were trained during the
Panchayat days. In South Asia, Nepal was a late entrant to the modern political process,
but it was the first country to experiment with the concept of local self-government. Following the restoration of multiparty
democracy in 1990, village, town and district panchayats were replaced by VDCs,
municipalities and DDCs and the institutions remained popular. Ironically, Prime Minister
Deuba, a democratically elected leader, has moved to undermine local bodies that were
promoted even during the autocratic Panchayat system. It was through elections during the
Panchayat days that most of the today's voters acquired skills of political participation.
"In a country with difficult physical terrain, one cannot imagine the life of rural
people without the local political entity. At a time when the political parties are yet to
be representatives, it is the local bodies which function as a representative of all
castes and communities," says Dev Raj Dahal, reader at the Tribhuvan University's
Political Science Department. "This is a crisis symptom, as the cabinet has become
the source of all decisions." Successful Leaders of Local Bodies If we review the last ten years, many
political leaders have emerged at the grass-roots level though local government. Keshav
Sthapit, mayor of Kathmandu, established himself as one of the most successful local
leaders by, among other things, mobilizing resources and local communities for urban
change. Had the government given him greater authority, Sthapit would have implemented his
programs more effectively. Sthapit lifted a city on the brink of virtual collapse to new
levels of cleanliness and spaciousness. Sthapit initiated many projects, including
the 1.8-km Bishnumati Link Road, which was closed down following opposition from local
communities few years ago. Thanks to his efforts, local residents agreed to give up their
land to build four-lane roads linking Sorakhutee to Bishnumati River. After the completion
of the road, the traffic pressure in the core city areas will be drastically reduced. From
roads to gardens to open space, Sthapit's contributions to changing the face of Kathmandu
have been enormous and unprecedented. Mayor Prem Suwal of Bhaktapur, too,
introduced many initiatives in his ancient town. Under his leadership, Bhaktapur has seen
tremendous improvements that one often wonders whether it is the same city. Mayor Bel
Prasad Shrestha of Dhulikhel is another energetic local leader who has put immense effort
into upgrading infrastructure such as drinking water, hospitals and institution of higher
education in his area. Mayor Bimal Srivastav of Birgunj, like his counterparts in Rajbiraj
and Dharan, has brought many visible changes to the community. Local leaders were exuding confidence and
inspiration while politicians at the national level were mired in ever deepening political
instability. During the peak of violent Maoist insurgency when police stations were being
withdrawn, local bodies remained the only representatives of the government. Hundreds of chairmen of low-budget VDCs
have come up with new vision and ideas, building roads, small irrigation projects, school
buildings and other projects that have made a difference in the local people's lives. DDCs
chairmen worked tirelessly to encouraging people to contribute in the process of
development. From the remote Himalayan districts of
Dolpa, Humla and Mustang to the more developed regions of the country, DDC presidents have
led the development machine. Lalitpur DDC chief Madhav Poudel and his counterpart in
Kavre, Krishna Prasad Sapkota, were particularly successful in implementing projects
having a direct bearing on the people's everyday lives. Mustang DDC initiated the
Jomsom-Mustang Road and the Humla DDC started the construction of the Hilsa-Taklakot
(Tibet) road. Lalitpur DDC started work on promoting Kanti Rajpath as an alternative road
to Kathmandu, while Kathmandu DDC is working on opening a short motor road linking
Pharping with the industrial town of Hetauda. Besides providing quality leadership at the
local level, these elected leaders have also proved to be effective agent of changes.
"During my tenure as DDC president, we were able to build roads and schools,"
says Sapkota, who is also president of the Federation of District Development Committees.
"Among the 85 VDCs and three municipality in Kavre, 82 VDCs are accessible by
road," he says. DDCs in Dolkha, Sindhupalchowk, Parbat,
Myagdi, Accham and Dadeldhura have built small hydro -power plants. "If you visit
remote districts, you can see a lot of change in the area of social mobilization in
carrying out development activities," says Sapkota. Such construction works were possible
because these institutions are accountable and run by locally elected representatives. If
the policies and plans had been made by bodies that are not answerable to the public at
large, such miracles would have been impossible. According to the Local Self-Government Act,
one of the aims of the bodies is to provide service. "Locally elected representatives
who live locally are better able to know the nature of local needs than politicians and
civil servants based in Kathmandu. Making local bodies responsible for services brings
accountability for administering those services efficiently much closer to the users of
those services," says Sthapit. Struggle for Survival Today's local bodies have a long history of
struggle for survival. Whenever local institutions have been fully involved in
development, they have received setbacks. Had western donors not pressed the imperative of
reinforcing local governance, Nepalese politicians would never have allowed these bodies
to function. During the movement for the restoration of
multiparty democracy, people rose up against the popular names of local bodies. Many
buildings of village, town and district Panchayats were destroyed. Today, the Maoists have
destroyed more than 1,100 VDC buildings. Whether during revolutionary or evolutionary
times, local bodies are the worst victims. "Sher Bahadurji and Khum Bahadurji did to
local bodies what the Maoists could not do in the last six years," says Pandey.
"The prime minister seems to be playing into the hands of the Maoists." The municipal and village ward is
recognized as the basis of electioneering. Politicians know that neglecting the
organization at the local level poses a clear risk to the party that creates
reverberations all the way to the national level. Local elections are a barometer of the
strengths of national parties. Then-prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala agreed to hold
local elections in 1993 under pressure from western donors who recognized the bodies as a
best way of managing development works. Nepal's local government philosophy is
based on the representative principles propounded by John Stuart Mill. In the last four
decades, local bodies have successfully proved that they can bring desired change if they
are properly represented. Participation in the process of government
was a valuable education in public affairs, which helped to stimulate local leadership.
According to Mill, the aim of representative government is to promote the virtue and
intelligence of the human beings composing the community and to utilize their services so
as to influence the public affairs in a favorable manner. From the midnight of July 16, the local
bodies have lost charismatic leaders like Sthapit, Suwal, Shrestha, Sapkota, Poudel and a
host of others like them. The dreams and hopes of the local people have been dashed by the
lethargy that is bound to set in participatory development. Even donor-supported projects
are facing an uncertain future. VDCs and DDCs are political institutions
through which the people in at the grass-roots level exercise their democratic rights and
actively participate in the local decision-making process. This activism, in turn, has
helped to make local bodies more accountable to the people. The expiry of the local
bodies' tenure has deprived the people of direct participation in the political process. Political parties have a tendency to
minimize - and undermine - the local bodies at the slightest pretext. During the
nine-month rule of the UML, when more than 80 percent of the local bodies were under
control of the Nepali Congress, the communist government introduced the "Build Our
Village Ourselves" program. After the elections of 1997, when the UML gained control
of two-thirds of the local bodies, the Nepali Congress made every effort to bypass local
representatives. The Nepali Congress government announced
such programs as the "Ganeshman Peace Movement", "B.P. With the Poor"
and "Women's Awareness Program" to bypass the local bodies and recruit party
workers to run parallel institutions. Legal Provision of Local Bodies According to Clause 239 of the Local
Self-Governance Act 1998, the government is required to extend the tenure of local bodies
for not more than a year or make "other arrangements" if elections cannot be
held on the ground of natural calamities, economic disarray or any other extraordinary
conditions. "This is an unconstitutional and
delinquent act of the government," says eminent constitutional lawyer Kusum Shrestha,
referring to decision to allow the tenure of local bodies to expire. "The government
has not given reasons why it cannot hold elections." According to the act, each VDC consists of
nine wards, with each ward having a president, one women member and three other members.
There is a village council that consists of 45 members, chairman and vice chairman and six
other members from backward classes or member from indigenous group nominated by the
council. In total, each village council has at least 53 members. Like in the VDCs, the wards of the
municipalities are determined by population, but the structure of membership is like the
VDCs. The Town council can nominate between 6 and 20 members. Along with recommendation
and certification for citizenship, death, marriage and birth, the local bodies also have
to perform the judicial duties. They can settle minor disputes within the locality. The Local Self-Governance Act has many
provisions envisaged to make it a more strong and effective medium for local development.
It calls for political participation for strengthening local self-governance by maximizing
people's participation in the process of governance by way of decentralization. It stresses the institutionalization of the
process of development by enhancing the participation of all the people in bringing equity
in development. The act also stresses the institutional development of local bodies to
exercise the power and authority in formulating and implementing plans. It also envisages
to build local leadership capable of taking decisions affecting the everyday lives and
needs of the people. The act thus takes people's participation
both as a means as well as an end of the well being of the people as stakeholders of
governance and development for the ownership of projects and empowerment . Nobody's Baby Interestingly, political parties, civil
society and non-governmental organizations have not protested against the constitutional
delinquency on the part of the government. The elected representative bodies were allowed
to expire with a view to setting up all-party committees. But how can a nominated body be
an alternative to elected representatives? It seems the local bodies are nobody's
babies. Even major political parties that instantly take violent steps to press the
government on minor issues have remained relatively quiet on this case. Although they have
many sharp differences, the Koirala and Deuba factions of the Nepali Congress appear to
agree on allowing the tenure of the local bodies to expire. Surprisingly, civil society and
non-governmental organization, whose survival depends upon the effectiveness of local
bodies, have remained tight-lipped. When the prime minister recommended the dissolution of
the House of Representatives, it triggered a massive outcry about conspiracies to derail
democracy. Interestingly, nobody seems to be bothered when it comes to the local bodies. "Where have NGOs and civil society
leaders have gone when the government has taken such a grave decision?" asks a
political analyst. "Doesn't the disappearance of the local bodies adversely affect
the democratic system?" Hundreds of books were written and hundreds of seminars and
working papers were presented suggesting the need to promote the cause of the local
bodies. When it was dissolved, nobody came to shed even a single tear. As Mill said, "Let a person have
nothing to do for his country, he will not care for it." Mill's central idea in the
Reflection on Representative Government is that in a system of representative government
citizen at some point or other is called upon to play some part in public affairs and this
enhances his concern for his country. The experiment of local-self government in
the last four decades has shown that participation of local communities benefit the nation
as argued by John Stuart Mill. Unfortunately, it has always been victimized whenever a
unit of local self-government has become popular and effective. 'This Is An Intentional Step To
Weaken Representative Bodies' — KUSUM SHRESTHA
Eminent
constitutional lawyer KUSUM SHRESTHA is well known advocate of local governance. Shrestha,
who played a major part in drawing up the Local Self-Governance Act, spoke to SPOTLIGHT on
the legal and constitutional implications of the government's decision not to extend the
local bodies' tenure for a year. Excerpts: How do you see the legal and
constitutional implications of the expiry of the tenure of local bodies? This move is a constitutional delinquency
on the part of the government. Extension of the tenure by another year should have been
the† first preference, as there is a categorical pronouncement in the act about the
extension. The government should justify the reasons behind not holding the election. The government is said to be
considering forming all-party committees to operate the local bodies. How do you look at
it? So far as other alternatives are concerned,
the law has not envisaged the mechanisms to substitute the local government by all-party
committees. How can a selected body be an alternative to the popularly elected local
government? This is an intentional step taken to weaken the representative bodies. What does the act say about
extension of tenure? The government has to cite the cause why it
did not they hold the elections. If it cannot give the reason for it, the government must
extend the tenure of the local bodies for another year. There is a provision of
accountability before dissolving them. The government cannot just pave the way for expiry
of tenure of local bodies without announcement of a new election date. The spirit of the
act is that the government cannot vacate the local bodies. How do you see the role of local
bodies in promoting democracy at the grass-roots level? Democracy means people's participation,
which is known as a participatory democracy. The local government has existed since time
immemorial. The laws have just institutionalized and given a name to the traditional
system. After the revolution of 1950, the government envisaged ways to institutionalize
the local bodies. Actually, the institutionalization of the local bodies took place during
the time of Panchayat system. Despite autocratic system of the government, the liberal
aspect of the Panchayat was the institutionalization of local government at the
grass-roots level. Local government has become an orphan now, as nobody is there to raise
a voice when it is has been virtually dismissed. What will be the situation now? After the expiry of the tenure, the
grass-roots level political institutions have seen a political vacuum. Who will fill that
vacuum? It breaks the chain of representative government. It will create chaos and
confusion in the grass-roots level. 'Hollowness Of Deuba's Commitment To
Democracy Has Been Exposed' — RAJENDRA PANDEY
Former member of
parliament and head of the Local Bodies Department of the CPN-UML RAJENDRA PANDEY
describes as undemocratic the government's decision not to extend the tenure of local
bodies. A former president of the Dhading District Development Committee, Pandey spoke to
SPOTLIGHT on the issue. Excerpts: How do you see the decision of the
government allowing the tenure of local bodies to expire? It is an undemocratic, illegal and
unconditional act of the government. It is a conspiracy to create a situation without any
elected representative in the country. Following the dissolution of the House of
Representatives, the country does not have elected representatives at the top. After the
expiry of the local bodies' tenure, villages are without representatives. Whose interest
is Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba serving by not extending the tenure of local bodies? What is the political situation in
the villages? There is confusion and anarchy in the
villages. Sher Bahadur Deuba's decision serves the interests of the Maoists who have been
working to destroy the local bodies for last six years. By a single stroke, Prime Minister
Deuba and Local Development Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka have helped the Maoists do what
they could not do in the last six years. The decision exposes the hollowness of Deuba's
and Khadka's commitment to democracy. Do you think all-party committees
can replace the elected bodies? How can nominated bodies replace elected
bodies? Forming all-party committees would be undemocratic. There is no question of our
participating in such committees. The government should have extended the tenure of local
bodies and announced the date for the new polls. Minister Khadka has said the
government dissolved the local bodies to replace representatives elected fraudulently
during the tenure of Bam Dev Gautam as deputy premier and home minister. How do you look
at this remark? If that is so, why didn't Khum Bahadur
Khadka dissolve the local bodies and call new elections earlier, since the Nepali Congress
has been leading the government for last four and half years. Khadka wants an excuse for
his undemocratic action. Let's not forget he has also kicked out 55,000 Nepali Congress
workers elected to the local bodies. What problem will the people face
following the expiry of the local bodies' tenure? First of all, it will disrupt development
activities at the local level. Most importantly, people will have to go to the district
headquarters to get permission and recommendation for small matters. It will create a
major vacuum in the villages. Local bodies run schools, hospitals, campus and other social
activities in grass root levels. Why did not your party press Prime
Minister Deuba to extend the tenure a month before the stalemate? We met Prime Minister Deuba in March and
asked him to announce the date for elections of the local bodies. Deuba argued that the
law-and-order situation was not conducive to holding elections. He agreed to extend the
tenure for another year. When a politician with the stature of Prime Minister Deuba
changed his mind, what could we do? Don't you think formation of
all-party committees is a viable alternative? The alternative to elected bodies must be
new ones formed through elections. Had western donor agencies not supported the local
bodies, the government would have dismissed it many years ago. Since the last many years,
donors have contributed a lot to improve the capacity of local bodies in implementing
development projects. We have to appreciate their contributions. The decision will now
hamper poverty alleviation projects at the grass-roots level. I don't understand the
reason behind this anti-national and unconstitutional step. The representatives of local
bodies refused to resign even in the midst of death threats issued by the Maoists. Is you party considering to
challenge the decision in court on behalf of the local representatives? As a political party, we are pressuring the
government to set the date for local elections. We want to contest the elections and face
the people. We are concerned by the callous manner in which the government decided allow
the local bodies' tenure to expire. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
