Alliances For Polls

The election tempo has gathered momentum as the political parties Sunday fielded their candidates for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) seats of the federal and provincial elections slated for November 20. On Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) announced that it completed preparations for the nomination of candidacy under the FPTP category. Prior to this, the major political parties had plugged away at their seat-sharing agreements with their respective electoral allies. Nonetheless, for the ruling alliance, it was like a hard nut to crack for each constituent had their own claim that was impossible to be met given the limited number of seats. There were twists and turns after the parties distributed their tickets to their functionaries. Some have deserted their own parties and joined other forces to secure the poll tickets. Even the ruling five-party alliance suffered a crack after Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) quit the bloc and forged alliance with the CPN-UML, citing that the alliance failed to allot the desired number of FPTP seats to it. Then, the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP) entered the scene and inked a seat-sharing deal with the ruling Nepali Congress (NC). 

The moves and counter-moves have animated the electoral politics ahead of the crucial two-tier polls. The five-party alliance haggled for two months to strike a win-win seat-sharing accord among its allies. The NC has got 86 seats, CPN-Maoist Centre 45, CPN-Unified Socialist 20, LSP 12 and Ratriya Janamorcha 2. Created against the dissolution of House of Representatives (HoR) by former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, the alliance seeks to garner a comfortable majority in the polls. The formation of the five-party government was crucial in letting the HoR complete its full five-year tenure while protecting constitution and maintaining political stability in the country. Meanwhile, the UML has signed a pact with JSP and Rastriya Prajatantra Party separately to back each other's candidates in the polls. Now it is apparent that the two alliances will be pitted against each other in the elections. The parties' inclination to contest the polls by forming alliances clearly11 indicates that the future government is likely to be coalition.

Meanwhile, the EC has called upon the political parties, candidates and concerned sides to exercise their sovereign rights in the election. It asked them to nominate their candidates by ensuring the proportional representation of all class, sex, communities, region and community as per the spirit of the constitution. The constitutional body has expressed its commitment to facilitating all the qualified candidates to file their nomination, according to the news report of this daily. Now doubt, it is the EC's responsibility not to deprive any eligible citizen of the right to be a candidate. It has made arrangements for the eligible citizens to register their candidacy through their representatives. This provision provides a respite to those who are unable to attend the EC offices in person.

However, it is important for the political parties to abide by the election code of conduct to hold the polls in a fair, free and fearless environment. They should cooperate with the EC to create congenial poll atmosphere. For example, the federal and provincial ministers have been prohibited from involving in a poll campaign in the constituencies other than their own. If they have to visit other constituencies for any sort of work, they require taking permission from the EC. It is not just the political parties but also other stakeholders such as civil society, media, business community and citizens who must equally contribute on their behalf for making the polls a success.