Consensus govt likely to elude parties

KATHMANDU: With just three days remaining before the President’s deadline to political parties to form a consensus government expires, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the parties will once again miss the bus.

As of now, there hasn’t been any significant development in this regard.

“Not a single party has taken the initiative, therefore it is unlikely that a consensus government will be formed as per Article 38 (1) of the Interim Constitution,” said UML CA member Agni Kharel. “If political parties were serious about government formation, they would be holding meetings and consultations to meet the deadline,” he added.

President Dr Ram Baran Yadav had called upon political parties to form consensus government within seven days on Saturday.

Neither the ruling CPN-UML nor the NC have anything to show by way of progress and the same is the case with the UCPN-M.

In July, the UML had advocated consensus government after Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned, saying it would be meaningless to form a majority government again. The UML has stuck to its stance since then.

Radheshyam Adhikari, NC CA member is sceptical about formation of consensus government. He cites intra-party and inter-party conflict as a factor that will preclude such a government. “If we cannot forge consensus within the given time frame, we will again have to go for election as per Article 38(2) by respecting the apex court’s recent verdict. “But we are still hopeful because we have been working seriously on House Rules amendment,” Adhikari added.

Intra-party conflict in major parties has also deepened the problem. On Sunday, the Maoists decided to form government under its leadership or to support anyone whose agenda suited theirs. NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba has come up with a proposal against forming national consensus government.

Deuba’s proposal has to do with himself as candidate for PM of consensus government, while parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel sees himself as PM candidate of majority government and party President Sushil Koirala favours consensus government on rotation basis.

These positions reveal there is no easy formula for forging consensus on government formation.

Maoist Vice Chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai’s struggle against the party establishment also bodes further problems in the future. Narayan Kaji Shrestha, another Maoist Vice Chairman believes consensus government is possible, though it will not be easy. “If there is no consensus government, the nation must still get a government,” Shrestha added.

The Office of the President, on the other hand, has already become cynical about the activities of political parties. It has said there was no hope of consensus government within the given time frame. “This is frustrating and we are not optimistic that the parties will meet the deadline,” Rajendra Dahal, Press Adviser to the President said. “If they cannot show any valid reason for extending the timeframe by Friday, there will be no option before the President but to revert to Article 38(2) of the Interim Constitution and call on parliament and political parties to form a government on majority basis.”

This means we may be in for more rounds of prime ministerial election again.
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