Leaders unable to address complex political situation Rat race begins. Will a dark horse emerge?

In spite of much talk about a national government, the three major parties in the Constituent Assembly (CA), the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) were unable to come to any consensus on different issues. In fact these parties have been exposed of their real intentions when no agreement was reached even after the extra five days given by President Ram Baran Yadav expired on Sunday night. On Monday, the President has called on the parties to elect the Prime Minister from the Constituent Assembly.
“Since the political parties failed to select a consensus Prime Minister, the President has sent a letter to the Parliament to select a Prime Minister on majority basis as per Article 38 (2) of the Interim Constitution, an advisor of the President has been quoted as saying by a daily newspaper.
Meanwhile, amidst the political stand-off between the three major parties on who would lead the government, the Legislature-Parliament unanimously approved an “advanced budget” of Rs. 110.21 billion presented by caretaker Finance Minister Surendra Pandey. The political leaders have admitted that it had not been possible to present the regular budget estimates for the Fiscal Year 2010-2011 due to “political instability”. The parties had agreed to present this “special” budget, as if this was not done, the state would have been at a stand-still fiscally. Right now it is estimated that this advance budget will allow the government activities to continue for about four months. But no development activities have been addressed by the budget. This situation already gives a stark picture of the prevalent situation in the country.
Till the time of writing the parties had not come to any agreement to form a new government.
But to come back to the habit of how the parties come to an agreement at the last moment almost always, many allege that this has become the standard practice in recent times, but otherwise, like in the formation of a new government, they, specially the three major parties, will keep on bargaining and make constant efforts to get an upper hand.
A fortnight has already passed since Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned through a televised statement on June 30. The Maoists had said that if Prime Minister Madhav Nepal resigned, a consensus government could be formed “within half an hour”. But this seems to have been a hyper-inflated statement from the side of the Maoists. Forget half an hour, the parties have not been able to come to an agreement for a consensus government, leave alone a “National” government, even after hundreds of hours have passed by.
The three major parties, which have taken the onus of taking major decisions for the country in the past four years or so, seem to have been guided only with their own petty interests or the constant prodding of foreigners, including India, the US and other Western nations. Considering the lack of interest shown by these parties to the true concerns of the general people, it can now be seriously questioned whether decisions like declaring the nation a republic and also making Nepal, the only Hindu country in the world, a secular state, was taken with sincerity and conviction or just because of the leaders’ compulsion to act as per orders from “outside”. Maybe the parties have gained politically in the short run, and maybe they have been able to cast aside the institution of the monarchy, considered an obstacle by those who wanted to have a free hand in Nepal and also the “secularists” forces, but now, the parties and leaders have nobody to point fingers at, except each other and going by the tense political struggle taking place, it seems outside forces are also perplexed by what step should be taken now.
In the country itself, the Nepalese people are going through a harrowing period, when not only do they live a life of insecurity, but they also have become victims of “hyper-inflation” and they have to live with constant scarcity of basic essentials, including electricity, water, cooking gas, petrol and kerosene. But the political leaders have scant time to even think about such problems of the people, leave alone act on it. Has one party or one leader brought out any programmes to address such problems?
Constant promises are made of how things will improve after a new constitution is drafted, but if this is so, then why aren’t these parties, who have been given a grace period of one more year to draft a new constitution, doing anything about that task entrusted to them? They wasted the given two years, wasting billions of rupees of the tax payers money, and barely even mentioned the “C” of the new constitution. Nothing has changed now, even after the extended period, with pay and perks, was given to the gargantuan Constituent Assembly consisting of 601 members.
Therefore, for most Nepalese, it is irrelevant who becomes the Prime Minister through an election in the CA. Most believe that “lucky” individual and his or her party, will again be busy only in trying to save the government and please each and every representative in the Assembly, and not work for the problems faced by the people. Like mentioned last week, all that the people have seen, besides insecurity, scarcity, inflation and crime, is the constant meetings, specially between the leaders of the three major parties, which always seem to be “inconclusive”.
A prominent columnist had written that more than the present confusing situation, what is worrying for the people is the absence of any hope of anything being done by the present crop of leaders to get the country out of the present turmoil. “If there is a major mishap in the commercial banking sector, that could be the catalysts for another much more deadly and dangerous conflict to start in this troubled country,” he predicted. The confusion among the political leaders even on the presence of the United Nations Mission in Nepal, indicates, there is a chance that there will be more presence of such agencies and maybe even foreign forces in Nepal in the days to come. Can anybody still hope that the ever squabbling parties and foreign guided leaders can tackle this complicated and complex situation? It is doubtful.

peoplesreview.com.np

Nepali Congress courts fringe parties; claims Maoists looking to 'seize power'

Nepali Congress (NC) has requested the fringe parties for support in the prime ministerial run-off slated for August 2.At a meeting with top leaders of CPN (ML), CPN (United) including other small parties held at NC's parliamentary party office in Singha Durbar Friday morning, NC Vice President and PM candidate requested for such support.The NC leaders are also learnt to have asked the leaders of the fringe parties not to back the Maoists in the prime ministerial election under any circumstances as the former rebels are looking to seize state power.The meeting comes at a time when the Maoists have started to court Madhesi parties as well as fringe parties to ensure its victory in the August 2 election.

NC DOWNPLAYING THE MAOIST BY URGING THE FRONT FOR STAYING NEUTRAL

After finding itself in ditch, Nepali Congress is cutting down the bases of the Maoist for equalizing their status. Presently Nepali Congress lacks the support of both UML and the Front. Support of both sides is necessary for NC to form a majority government. But the Maoists are in better standing. The Maoist can form a majority government if it gets support from either of the parties- UML or the UDMF. UML has already declared of not supporting a majority government and moreover its stand of not supporting an armed leadership even in national consensus government has left little hope for the Maoist from it. But the Maoist have some good relationshiip with the Madhesi Front. With some reservations on the demand made the UDMF, Maoist agree with most of the demand. If the parties reach an compromise than NC will be ditched and once again the Maoist will be forming a majority government.
Capitalising on this condition,according to a source from the party, NC acting Chairman Sushil Koirala, Vice president Ram Chandra Poudel, General Secretary Bimlendra Nidhi Tiwari and spokesperson Arjun Narsingh KC are working hard on generating conditions that would foil the merger of Maoist and the Front. Adding to it, the source further added that Indian Embassy was also not in favor of an allignement between the Maoist and Madhesi Front and has been initiating indirect efforts to avoid it.
NC is presently conducting informal negotiations with the Front. According to the information provided by the source, if NC fails to avoid the Front's merger with the Maoist, it is planning to separate Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party and Gachedar led Forum from the Front for dragging down the Maoist.
Meanwhile, CPN UML chairman Jhalnath Khanal who was not allowed to form a government by his party even if he was able to cater a support enough for it has sent a letter to the Front urging them for not supporting a majority government and remaining neutral. Khanal is in favor of forming a national consensus government with a new candidate list.

Big Three’s top guns in PM race

The scenario is finally clear. The race for the prime minister’s post will be between the big three leaders of the Big Three. UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress (NC) Parliamentary Party Leader Ram Chandra Poudel and CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal will be contesting in the prime ministerial election on Wednesday. However, with no new equation among the major political parties till Tuesday evening, chances are high that Wednesday’s elections will fail to elect a new prime minister, thereby leading to a second-round of voting.The three major political parties filed their nominations for the top post on Tuesday afternoon after they failed to strike an agreement on a consensus candidate to lead the new government. If the three parties go head long into elections, the swing votes from the Madhes-based parties appear decisive. However, it is unclear which side the Madhesi Front will back, though they have said they would support any of the three depending on how they commit to address the Madhesi agenda. However, there are possibilities of multiple scenarios emerging.Second round of polling likely As of now, the Parliament failing to elect a new prime minister seems the most likely scenario. Dahal’s candidacy and the UML Central Committee decision on Tuesday to withdraw its candidate and stay away form election in case it fails to garner a two-thirds majority (401 votes) has made the scenario most probable. With the UML decision, unless the party changes it on Wednesday, NC candidate Poudel’s hope of winning the election may come a cropper.UML, on the other hand, has little hope of winning the election as it will get votes from neither the Maoists nor the NC as both will obviously vote for their own candidates.Given the scenario, Poudel himself sensed that “the House could go for a second round of polling because of the decision of the UML”, which commands 109 votes. He said so after filing his candidacy on the Constituent Assembly premises.In such a situation, if any of the three nominees fails to secure 300 votes of the 599 members of Parliament on Wednesday’s election, the parliament secretariat will fix a date for the second phase of election. Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will continue in office until a new premier is elected. The second phase polls are likely to be held in the first week of April, according to an NC leader.Khanal fate in the balance UML Chairman Khanal strongly believes that he has an edge over the other candidates. Khanal expects to garner votes from the Maoists, Madhes-based parties and Left and fringe parties. In Tuesday’s meeting, Khanal said he would secure 427 votes from them. “I am confident Prachandajee will pull out his nomination and support me,” said Khanal after filing his nomination.If the Maoists and the United Madhesi Democratic Front support the UML, Khanal’s dream to hold the most coveted post will come true.However, it is not sure whether the Maoists will withdraw support to the UML as some Maoist leaders said Dahal’s candidacy was irrevocable.Besides, the Maoist party itself is divided on supporting Khanal. A faction of Maoist leaders led by Baburam Bhattarai wants to take the middle path when it comes to supporting Khanal, while Dahal is comparatively loyal to Khanal rather than Poudel.However, some UML leaders said Khanal’s consensus politics strategy would be harmful for him.Furthermore, Khanal will be in more trouble if he fails to secure a two-thirds majority (support of the 401 lawmakers) before Wednesday’s voting.A two-thirds majority will not be possible for the UML candidate without the backing of the UCPN (Maoist), the Madhesi Front and fringe parties.Khanal will be ousted from the race if his nomination is withdrawn. “In case of nomination withdrawal, any candidate would not be entertained in the second phase elections. This is the parliamentary tradition,” said Speaker Subas Nembang. However, party leaders claimed no one would block party Chairman Khanal from contesting in the second round. “His attempts are for consensus and nobody will stop him from forging consensus even if parties fail to form a majority government,” UML Secretary Yuba Raj Gywali said.Maoists bank on Madhesi parties The UCPN (Maoist) claims that it will emerge victorious and form the next majority government, if not a consensus one. The Maoist confidence comes from its belief that it will get full support from the Madhes-based and fringe parties. Having confirmed that it would get neither the NC nor UML support, the Maoist party has turned to the Madehes-based and fringe parties, which are on the fence.The Maoist claim holds some water, too. If all three parties stand by their position till the last hour on Wednesday, Dahal has the possibility of securing a majority if the Madhesi Front, the alliance of four Madhes-based parties comprising 83 votes, decides to back the Maoist party. The Maoists have 237 votes in the parliament. Besides, the fringe parties have 55 lawmakers in the House, though their vote is likely to be scattered among the three candidates. Dahal, to that effect, held consultations with MJF Chairman Upendra Yadav and Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party chairman Mahantha Thakur. The leaders, however, did not give him a clear stand. Earlier, the Maoist Politburo meeting picked Dahal as a party’s candidate in the election. The Maoist Vice-Chairman Mohan Baidya-led faction insisted that Dahal file his candidacy to block another Vice Chairman Babu Ram Bhattarai. The Bhattarai faction has reasoned that a majority vote could be garnered in Bhattarai’s name. Earlier, the Madhes-based parties had vowed to support Bhattarai. However, Dahal is still hopeful of political consensus. “I think that a new atmosphere of national consensus can be built at the last moment through my candidacy,” he said after filing his nomination. “We are open to discussions and ultimately there will be consensus among the political parties.”NC chances yet a boost? With the Maoist party fielding its own candidate, NC stalwarts say that the chances of Congress winning the elections have become high. They believe Dahal’s candidacy virtually shattered Khanal’s hope of winning the elections. Under this condition, they say, UML has no alternative other than to support the NC. Though the UML has announced that it will withdraw its candidate and stay away from the elections in case it fails to confirm a two-thirds majority vote by Wednesday afternoon, NC leaders believe the “UML will change its decision”. The UML was considered to be the strongest contestant in that a section of the Maoists had opened the possibility of supporting the party in case they failed to form their own majority government. “I’ve come to know that Dahal’s nomination is irrevocable, which means the UML has already lost the Maoist votes it expected. Since the UML is not going to win without Maoist support, it has no alternative but to support NC,” said NC Vice President Gopal Man Shrestha. “UML will support the Congress also because it received the NC’s support while electing Madhav Kumar Nepal to the post of prime minister last year.”NC leaders say that everything is possiblein politics. “If the UML fails to get a two-thirds majority, there will be further talks between the NC and UML. We hope there are still chances that the UML will agree to support NC in that case,” Shrestha said. The NC further claims that the party will garner support from the Madhesi Janadhikari Forum (MJF), which is not in the UML-led coalition. “We will have full support from the existing coalition plus from Upendra Yadav’s MJF,” Shrestha said.

from:the kathamandu post

Election for PM post taking place today

Election to the post of Prime Minister is taking place at the legislature parliament today. According to the parliament secretariat, the election process will begin at Constituent Assembly (CA) hall, Naya Baneshwar at 11 am, Wednesday. Nominations for the post of Prime Minister have been registered as separate motions in the parliament.
Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal (File photo)Unified CPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (UML) have fielded their candidates in the prime ministerial race. Maoist vice chairman Baburam Bhattarai has registered a motion to elect Pushpa Kamal Dahal as the Prime Minister. The motion is seconded by another vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
NC Leader Ram Chandra Poudel (File photo)Likewise, NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal have registered separate motions to elect Ram Chandra Poudel and Jhala Nath Khanal, respectively, as the Prime Minister.According to general secretary at the parliament secretariat Manohar Prasad Bhattarai, the election process will begin with deliberations on all three motions. After the deliberations, Speaker of House Subas Chandra Nemwang will allot time for withdrawing the motions. Only the lawmakers who have registered the motions, and not the candidates who have been proposed, can withdraw the candidacy to the post of PM.
CPN (UML) chairman Jhala Nath Khanal If two of the motions are withdrawn leaving a single motion, the Speaker will announce the concerned candidate elected to the post of Prime Minister. If the motions are not withdrawn, the Speaker will present the motion one by one at the parliament for decision. The motion registered first at the parliament will be presented for decision at the House first. Lawmakers present at the House will vote for or against the motion by signing on a box marked ‘yes’ or ‘no’ aside the candidates name.If more than 50 percent of the lawmakers present at the House vote for the candidate, the Speaker will announce the candidate elected to the post of the Prime Minister. The other motions will be automatically diffused. If the first candidate does not secure a majority, the House will move on to the second motion and repeat the process. If none of the motions get approved, the parliament will call for a second election to the post of the PM.

nepalnews.com

Will political drama ever end?

It’s already been two weeks since Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned from his post as the Prime Minister. His resignation would break the political deadlock and enhance the possibility of consensus politics. At least, that is what the Maoists said before he formally put his resignation on the paper and called it quits. Contrary to their assertion, his resignation has further thickened the plot.Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his comrades had really hoped that once Nepal quit, it would be really easy to use gullible opportunists within the CPN-UML to pressurize their leadership to support the Maoists, which obviously has not happened so far. The Maoists’ calculation has once again gone wrong. But at least they had a formula that they thought would work in their favor. They are down but not out. They will pull up their sleeves and gear up for another showdown. So no matter who replaces Nepal, he or she will not have easier days ahead. It is, therefore, better to realize the fact that radical communism is part and parcel of Nepali politics. Undermining or wishing it away is naïve. Instead of engaging in endless checkmate game, it is better to keep them engaged and find ways to mainstream them.While the Maoists are committed to achieving their end goal, come what may, the ruling coalition is glued together by two things: The lust for power and the threat of the Maoist intimidation and take over. The fragility of the coalition is evident from their differences over who should head the next government. If the coalition was really sincere about institutionalizing democracy and safeguarding the people’s rights, the issue of premiership would have been insignificant. Nepal’s resignation has thrown coalition members out of orbit.The lust for power among the major political party leaders of the current coalition is the major reason why the President’s call to form a national consensus government failed to produce any results. Not only the first deadline but the second one was also missed. If the ongoing wrangling continues, we will have no idea of Nepal’s successor till the last minute. It is quite possible that the election of the new PM through voting in the Constituent Assembly (CA) on July 21 may still not produce a conclusive winner if the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML were to field their own candidates.
We should stop letting politics triumph over the rules. President Ram Baran Yadav, should make the CA members play by the rules and stop extending deadlines. Someone has to be there to say enough is enough or else the political drama will go on forever.Is anything wrong with the ongoing political drama? For external forces that have political and security interests in Nepal, politicians can wrangle as much as they want to. As long as the chaos is controllable, political pendulum can swing the way it likes. For politicians, it is the pay and perks that need to keep flowing. In the current situation whereby the prospect of facing electorate is extremely remote, the need to deliver is simply not in anybody’s priority. As far as the power brokers in Kathmandu are concerned, till the chances of remaining in circulation are alive, they will not have to worry about benefiting from the liquidation of the state. They have mastered the art of rebranding, can become anything from civil society members to partisan hack, as the political landscape shifts.Given the level of insensitivity exhibited by the external players, politicians, and power brokers toward the degrading political and economic condition, it is high time that people hit the streets like they did against the Maoists’ blockade couple of months ago. The sooner the better. Nepali people need to be concerned about the degenerating political culture which is having a disastrous impact on the way we live and enjoy political and personal freedom. Not only that, it is also jeopardizing the prospects of socioeconomic development. Recently, the Maoist Central Committee member and commander of the PLA Fifth Division in Rolpa, Kali Bahadur Kham, was found to have conducted suspicious transaction with Chinese traders, who eventually ended up getting robbed by the revolutionary. This shows the level of criminalization in politics. It is not only the politicians that are resorting to criminal activities to enrich themselves. Tej Bahadur Karki, a Hetauda Appellate Court Judge, was recently suspended for his involvement in an inappropriate release of abduction kingpins: Sanjaya Shrestha, Rohit Paliwal Agrawal and Bhimsen Pundit. The ongoing rapid decay of institutions is having a serious impact on our chances to emerge as a modern and prosperous society. The new measure, called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), developed and applied by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) shows that 78 percent of Nepalis live on two dollars a day. These poor are barely surviving, not thriving. We are even behind impoverished nations like Haiti, Djibouti, and Swaziland.The reason why we are regressing despite never-ending progressive hoopla is that we let politics triumph over rules. We, as a nation, are more interested in political outcomes, rather than the process. We, as a matter of fact, do not care about the process at all. For example, we want a new government but are least concerned about whether the process of having such a government in place is transparent and ethical. By not doing so, we undermine the fact that what we are doing today will build on what we want to do tomorrow. If we want a transparent and functional political system, we should be prioritizing the process, rather than getting obsessed with outcomes. It might be a long and arduous process, but it at least ensures definite outcomes that cannot be easily rigged by corrupt politicians, that are more interested in enriching themselves rather than serving their constituents.We should stop letting politics triumph over the rules. President Ram Baran Yadav, should make the CA members play by the rules and stop extending deadlines. Yadav, a decent man, must take part of the blame for political malaise. By appearing too lenient, he is making the swamp even murkier. It is time we drained the swamp to prevent it from becoming murkier and smellier. Politicians in the CA see take him for granted and treat as a fellow traveler rather an authority, where the buck should actually stop. The buck has to stop somewhere. Someone has to be there to say enough is enough or else the political drama will go on forever.
BY:DR HARI BANSHA DULAL
www.republica.com

Nain Singh is going to UK

Central vice president of Nepal Student Union and editor of Accademic Challenges (educational book)Nain singh Mahar is going to UK to attend the prize distribution ceremony recently.He won International prize i.e. Constructive Student Leader Award 2010.

According to asst.editor of accademic challenges Dinesh Chandra Thapaliya, Mahar will go UK last of this month.

Nepali Congress on screen

A subject of constant discourse, politics has often been a topic for film and documentary makers around the world. Following the footsteps are Nepalis themselves. And the latest to join this bandwagon is 29-year-old Bhupendra Jung Shahi with his documentary, “Nepali Congress in Democratic Movement”. Bhupendra, who is from Kalikot district, is the chairman of the BP Koirala Literature and Study Foundation and also the vice president of Nepal Students’ Union (NSU). Produced with the support of BP Foundation, the documentary is penned by Shahi along with Constitutional Assembly (CA) member Shobhakar Parajuli.

The hour-long documentary incorporates the history of the Nepali Congress (NC) from its formation in the late 1940s to 2007, along with the country’s democratic movement.
So “It can particularly be informative to the new generation,” says the director.An assemblage of black & white videos, photographs, old newspaper clippings, and color shots of recent political events of Nepal, the documentary also has a few video clippings and recorded speeches of the late NC leader Bishweshwar Prasad (BP) Koirala. Recent shots of Sundarijal, Biratnagar and Timurbote of Solukhumbu, where some of the important events related to NC took place, also share space with the old clippings.

Prior to making the documentary, Shahi, along with his ten crew members, conducted research for two years.“It almost took a year for scriptwriting and another one for collecting materials, like videos, photos etc,” informs Shahi.Video clips and photographs were collected from the leaders’ families, and a few of them have been dug out from the party’s archives.
“Tracking down some of the shots, like the late king Mahendra’s car, which was bombed by the Party during the 1960s, was particularly difficult. Nobody exactly had the information about the whereabouts of the car,” shares Shahi.The first half of the documentary revolves mainly around NC’s participation in the revolutions of the 1950s and ‘90s with BP as the central character. Clips of the first general elections of 1959, BP’s visits to China and India after his appointment as the first democratically and majority-elected prime minister of Nepal in 1959 are some of the clips that can be new to present-day audience.

“A few visuals of BP have been repeated intentionally as the new generation isn’t familiar with him, and also due to the lack of videos,” shares Shahi.Premiered amidst a handful people on June 28 at Nepal Tourism Board, the documentary will be screened nationwide after the forthcoming general assembly of the NC concludes. “Initially, it’ll be screened in the five development regions in July/August, and then we’ll move to all the 75 districts in August/September,” says Shahi.The documentary has been narrated by journalist Suresh Poudel and will also be dubbed in English within the next two months.The documentary is a simple serialization of important events from the 1950s to 2007, and avoids investigative reporting and explanatory narratives. Unfamiliar names like Tarini Prasad Koirala, a journalist and writer and the other younger brother of BP, has also been brought forth in the documentary. Though youth and women leaders come into sight now and then, not much has been mentioned about them.

“The documentary is focused on the Party’s history, and summarizing it became our major concern,” observes the director.NC Vice President Prakash Man Singh, who was present at the documentary’s screening, sees it as a good attempt to bring the party in the limelight. However, he believes that with some alterations in the future, amendments can be brought in the documentary.

And so feels the director, too.“If there are any good suggestions on the way, we’re ready to make changes to standardize the documentary’s quality.”

By:SUMINA KARKI
http://theweek.myrepublica.com