Consensus Course

After giving full shape to his Cabinet, Prime Minister and CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has moved to forge consensus on burning national issues with the political parties represented in the House of Representatives. On Tuesday, PM Prachanda presided over an all-party meeting, seeking their consensus on the election of the President, Vice President and Speaker. It is natural for the new Prime Minister to promote the spirit of consensus, co-work and collaboration so that the government does not stumble over unintended political fallouts. He called for unanimous position of parties as the country witnessed new political development after he won overwhelming vote of confidence in the HoR. The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the parliament, also voted for Prachanda, which created an atmosphere of co-work and cooperation. The NC has said that it threw support behind Prachanda to protect constitution and federal system.

The CPN-Maoist Centre had contested three-tier polls as a constituent of five-party alliance involving Nepali Congress, CPN-Unified Socialist, Rastriya Janamorcha and Loktantrik Samajbadi Party but when NC president and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba broke his promise to let Prachanda become new PM for first term of five-year, the latter sought support of CPN-UML and other fringe parties to form the new government. As a result, the seven-party alliance came into existence to constitute the new dispensation. The huge mandate the new PM received during the vote of confidence in the Lower House has instilled a new confidence into his government amidst the doubts whether the hung parliament fails to deliver a stable government necessary to deliver development, good governance and inclusive prosperity. 

The PM wanted to translate the historic support of lawmakers into broader consensus for nation-building task. So he initiated open discussions on the national issues. “Prime Minister Prachanda has proposed to move ahead with consensus on the election of President, Vice President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker as well as the appointment of neutral constitutional posts,” said newly appointed Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma, who attended the all-party meeting. Sharma informed that PM Prachanda had stressed forging consensus on the matter of nationality and border dispute. Prachanda's bid for securing political consensus on the election of the President and other important positions is praiseworthy given that the Office of President is crucial to protect constitution, its norms and values. 

The constitution has clearly defined the composition, role and duties of all state's agencies.  The past experiences have shown that the nation's politics plunged into crisis and uncertainty when the key state's bodies fail to work in tandem. It is necessary for the heads of state and the constitutional bodies to rise above the partisan interest to maintain integrity and implement constitution in letter and spirit. This will help to enforce the principle of separation of powers, enabling the executive, legislature and judiciary to perform impartially and independently, thereby abuse of power. The political parties and the government should refrain from intervening in the works of judiciary and other constitutional apparatuses. The ruling and opposition parties with divergent ideologies should cultivate the culture of consensus to surmount the tough challenges facing the nation. In the all-party meeting, PM Prachanda urged the parties to embrace this line of thought and support his government to effectively serve the people.