National 2 (Spotlight Weekly)

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 clearly spells out that the people are the source of sovereignty

By KESHAB POUDEL

When King Gyanendra has, time and again, express his commitment to follow the letter and spirit of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990, some political leaders have demanded that he needs to announce his commitment publicly stating that the sovereignty lies on the people of Nepal. As the King is expressing total respect to the constitution, what is the sense of debating this issue on piece-meal basis.

Political agitation : Need to focus the demand

King Gyanendra’s commitment to the constitution proves that he accepts the fact that the sovereignty lies on the people of Nepal. As such, there is no logic in seeking his reaffirmation through the public pronouncement.

The very first paragraph of the Preamble of the Constitution states, “…… the source of sovereign authority of the independent and sovereign Nepal is inherent in the people ……”

Undermining the sacrosanct written words on the constitution, five agitating parties - which are demanding to activate the constitution – are compelling King Gyanendra to prove his loyalty through verbal statements. It seems that the leaders find verbal assurance more legitimate than the written one.

“The King must announce publicly that the sovereignty lies on the people,” said CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Nepal’s apex court had a long time ago settled this issue by stating that a written document with Royal seal is legitimate rather than the King’s public announcement. The written document with Royal seal is regarded as the most legitimate document.

At a time when King Gyanendra has been often expressing his full commitment to the written document with Royal seal given by his late brother in 1990, asking for his public pronouncement of the same will serve no purpose except to widen the gap among political forces.

The demands put forth by the major political parties do not have any rationale. If the King has to express his commitment publicly on sovereignty, what about his comments to other 133 Articles of the constitution? Does he also need to pronounce his commitment to all of those articles separately?

“King Gyanendra told me that he will abide by the letter and the spirit of the Constitution,” said former prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, following his royal audience.

The new demand of the agitating political parties is self-contradictory. Since political parties have been launching agitation demanding to strengthen the right of the people, they view that the revival of the constitution will restore the rights. But by pressing the King for public announcements and by forcing him to accept their 18 point agenda, they seem to be considering the King’s public announcement as the final one, thereby implying that he is the source of sovereignty.

At a time when political parties are themselves stressing that only the House of Representatives can settle the political disputes including the issue of sovereignty of the people, how can the King endorse their 18 point demands – which include many demands that require two third majority of the House of Representatives and National Assembly to come into effect. Since the King cannot amend the constitution, there is no purpose in pursuing such demands.

According to the Article 116 of the Constitution, there requires two thirds of majority of both the Houses of the parliament to amend the constitution including the Royal assent.

Different articles written in the constitution binds the King. Based on the supremacy of elected representatives, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal has various articles defining the role of state organs.

Political parties - which have been struggling to revive the constitutional process – must stress on one point agenda – that is to activate the constitution through the constitution of the House of Representatives.

As the monarch has already announced to start the elections of House of Representatives by May 2005, all actions must be focused to hold the polls. If the elections cannot be held in the time, the revival of the dissolved House of Representatives is always possible. Since the constitution requires the House of Representatives to decide all legislative as well as executive matters, the country cannot be ruled without the lower house indefinitely.

According to the Constitution, the country requires the House of Representatives as it passes the bills, annual expenditure and other treaties. The parliament is also required to nominate the prime minister.

“If the political parties are really sincere to activate the constitution, they should add another point in their 18 point demands which says that these demands will be discussed at the newly elected House of Representatives,” said a leading political analyst.

Political leaders must clear their mind that they have been launching the agitation to not to add the contradictory demands but to find out a political solution through one point demand - activation of the constitution.

INSTABILITY
Treading A Difficult Course

The political uncertainty persists even two weeks after the resignation by the prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Thapa : Leaving a trail of uncertainty

wo weeks after the resignation by the prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, the Royal Palace has finally invited leaders of the five agitating parties for talks. Till the writing of this story (Wednesday afternoon), it is still unclear what the outcome of the talks will be. Although the initiatives itself are undoubtedly positive, it remains to be seen how fruitful it will be.

Following the resignation by the prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa on May 4, the country is running without a full-fledged government for the last 14 days.

If the recent developments are any indications, it seems that the country has been sucked into a vicious cycle of political uncertainty resulting in a more chaotic situation with grave chances of confrontation in the days ahead. The signs of realizations about the ground reality has been absent among the major actors.

In the absence of full-fledged government, the whole administration has become non functional and the growing tide of en masse resignations by the nominated members of local bodies have already stalled development activities at local level.

The political forces – the King and the political parties – which must reconcile to bring the country back to the track – engaged in mud-slinging and playing games of discrediting and humiliating each other. Whether King Gyanendra – who often expresses his commitment to follow the letter and spirit of constitution – or leaders of major political parties – who have started agitation with the aim to activate constitution – no one is walking their talk. Instead, the hostile statements being attributed to them in the media is helping to further widen the rift between them.

Institutional monarchy and the political parties are pillars of democracy and only through the harmonization of these forces can the strength of the country enhance. “There is no alternative to the reconciliation between patriotic monarchists and patriotic democrats to bring the country to the right track,” said a political commentator.

At a time when the country is eagerly waiting for a fair political decision to resolve the existing impasse, the latest developments indicate that quick settlements are not in close horizon. “As the monarch and the leaders of five agitating political parties seem to be in no mood to entertain the viewpoint of each other, more and intensified confrontation is inevitable,” the commentator added.

From intellectuals to businessmen, all have expressed that there is a need to reach certain understanding between the King and the political parties. “I told the King that there must be a certain understanding between him and the agitating parties,” said former chief election commissioner Surya Prasad Shrestha. He was one among several representatives of civil society who met with the King at Gokarna on May 17.

As the agitation by the five parties continues to disturb the normal life of people, the King seems to be engaged
in endless series of consultations. Unlike the political parties, the institution of monarchy needs to be above controversies as it cannot organize political rallies and meetings to woo the people. Its strength lies in its centuries-old
influence that is deeply rooted in society.

“I am certain that we need to go a long way before achieving success in the agitation,” said Narayan Man Bijukchhe, president of Nepal Peasant and Workers Party (NWPP). “Our agitation will continue till King Gyanendra does not agree to hand over the sovereignty to the people.”

In their speeches, both the King as well as the political parties express their commitment on the need to activate the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal. However, that commitment is not seen in practice. At a time when the force which benefits from the divided political house in Nepal is powerful, its machination will be active to further intensify the already serious crisis of confidence. That is the reason why a bunch of extremists are running the show by sidelining the moderates among all of the major political forces. As long as hawks dominate the doves and as long as emotion prevails over reason, there is no immediate sign for a long term political solution.

However, the latest round of consultations with the political parties show that there are silver lining in the dark clouds hovering over this country.