Making Federal Laws Urgent: Tumbahamphe

Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe, an outspoken leader of the CPN-UML, holds a PhD in political science and boasts a remarkable four-decade political career. Hailing from Taplejung district, she has been deeply involved in UML politics, primarily representing Morang district. Her notable roles include serving as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives since the 2017 elections, as well as holding the position of Minister of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs. Her contributions have played a crucial role in advancing constitutional implementation. Coinciding with Constitution Day, she talked to Ram Prasad Dahal of The Rising Nepal, focusing on the Constitution. Summary of her views:

Liberal characteristics

Nepal's constitution was promulgated on Asoj 3, 2072 B.S., after our long and heavy sacrifice. We ensured people's rights in this constitution. So, it is a good constitution. We drafted the constitution through the representatives of the people, and it is the first constitution drafted and promulgated by people-elected representatives. None of the previous constitutions, which we had since 2007 B.S., were drafted by the elected representatives, and they were not as liberal to grant rights to the people as this one.

After the first Constituent Assembly failed to promulgate the constitution, we conducted a second Constituent Assembly election. The second CA became successful in drafting and promulgating the constitution.

Still, the constitution did not speak about the rights of certain groups of people. In this circumstance, some CA members from that particular community did not sign the constitution. That's why some communities have been expressing disagreement with it.

I would like to remember then-CA chair Subas Nembang's role in drafting and promulgating the constitution. He had played an important role in the timely promulgation of the constitution despite pressure from non-government organisations, international non-governmental organisations, and other interference in the constitution-drafting process. I recall his statement, "We make our constitution ourselves." His statement has been relevant even now. Due to this kind of stand of late Nembang, the successful promulgation of this constitution has become possible.

Implementation challenges

The constitution is good; it ensures the rights of people as well. We have challenges regarding its implementation. We must fully commit to putting it into action. We do not have federal laws for the full implementation of the Constitution. Due to a lack of such laws, people are not getting their rights, which are guaranteed by the constitution. We are making a mistake by not introducing the necessary laws to grant rights to people. Previously, when we were in government, we formulated 16 laws related to the fundamental rights of people as provisioned in the constitution. But challenges are surfacing as other laws related to fundamental rights were not formulated. It could add further challenges to the successful and meaningful implementation of the constitution.

I would like to suggest the government not to make delay in formulating the required laws in time. Lack of laws to implement the provisions of the constitution is the biggest challenge now. The government has not tabled any bills related to fundamental rights in parliament. The parliament session is running. But the government has not brought any bills relating to the implementation of the constitution. It has only brought bills related to budget and other issues.

If we do not bring federal laws related to fundamental rights ensured in the constitution, questions could arise about the constitution. Our party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), as the main opposition in the House of Representatives, has been asking the government to bring bills related to the implementation of the constitution to discuss, debate, and endorse them. But the government is not paying attention to this. The parliament is also not getting business, and the parliament meeting is not being held continuously. As a result, we are unable to discuss the issues.

Women's participation

We, women lawmakers, are advocating for women's participation on the basis of their population. To make the country successful by transforming society, empowering women is necessary. And increasing the participation of women in decision-making is needed for this. To ensure the increasing participation of women, discussions should be held even to make amendments to the Constitution. However, all parties are not ready to amend the constitution to ensure these rights. Everyone knows our society is patriarchal, and pro-women provisions tend to fall into shadow.

Electoral system

There is debate about a change in the present electoral system. But the constitution has not been provisioned to prevent any party from garnering a majority. It just provisioned the process for the formation of the government. If people do not ensure a majority for one party, it could bring political instability, and people may suffer further.

Likewise, some people argue that the number of people's representatives in parliament is high and they are becoming a financial burden to the nation. They blame the electoral system for the rising costs.

There are questions over federalism. Some are calling for its annulment. But parties are not discussing it while sitting together.

Finally, we drafted the best constitution. For its effective implementation, the federal, provincial, and local governments are not bringing the related laws, and they are unable to exercise the rights as provisioned in the constitution. Thus, the priority should be to formulate all laws as required for the implementation of the constitution.

If this situation continues, people's frustrations could rise. However, we have been able to handle it to date.

(Dahal is a journalist at The Rising Nepal.)