New PM on Aug 18

The fourth round of voting came and went, like the previous rounds, without electing a new prime minister. On the surface, it may appear that the voting has come and gone without making any change, but if you look a bit deeper you will see a profound change – the cynicism among the public has grown many folds and mistrust among the political parties has only deepened, further complicating the political crises. Agreed that the political deadlock is part and parcel of a democratic system and it is also true that it is not a unique Nepali experience. But this youngest republic is still too fragile to be able to face a protracted deadlock. It is for this reason as well the political parties should keep a tight rein on their recklessness.

The failure of the last four rounds of elections to give this country a new prime minister has proved just one point: The balance of power in the parliament, and by extension in the country, is such that the parties must come together to break this stalemate. The three major political forces – the Maoists, Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML – cannot stay in the three corners of a political triangle and let this political circus play out, which will eventually undermine their relevance. The three parties must now reflect on the whole process and figure out what went wrong and how they can move forward collectively.

Right now the parties have narrowly focused on the chair of the prime minister, but even if they managed to elect, one fine morning, a new premier through a majority of votes in the parliament, our political crisis is not going to disappear; instead, it will only grow. The current political crisis is a result of just one thing – Maoist party’s failure to transform itself into a civilian party and to accept peaceful politics. The NC and UML must go back to Maoists with the six-point agenda and negotiate it in earnest with them. If the Maoists are ready to compromise and strike a deal on these issues, implement some of them and win the confidence of the NC and UML, these two parties should be ready to accept a government led by the Maoists, something that they have shied away from doing so far in anticipation that the leadership might eventually come to them.

To be fair to Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, he cannot be sure that he will get the government leadership even if he reaches an agreement on the six-point agenda with the NC and UML unless these parties publicly and unequivocally express their commitment to accept his leadership. He would also perhaps like to have assurance from the southern neighbor about it but to do so will only undermine the strength of Nepal’s political parties and our sovereignty. If Dahal is unwilling to give up his party’s instrument of violence, the NC and UML must agree to elect a new prime minister from within the ruling alliance. UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal’s stance that his party should remain neutral in the voting unless the process is entirely scrapped is unjustified and it also smacks of sheer opportunism. He must give it up in the larger interest of the country and the fifth round of voting on Aug 18 must elect a new prime minister.

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=21961