What Ails Nepali Political Parties?

Political parties are considered the agents of change. In the absence of parties, we can’t imagine a vibrant democracy. Neither can it thrive and take root in the society. However, parties must adhere to their principles, ideals, goals and programmes in order for democracy to be functional, inclusive and participatory. The parties are supposed to bridge the gap between people and government. Inner-party democracy, innovation of ideas and two-way communication are essential for the parties to deal with emerging challenges. Inner-party democracy democratises the leadership, promotes the culture of listening and brings the grassroots grievances into the higher party committees.

On the other hand, innovation saves the parties from being dogmatic and frozen in a rut. It enables them to be vigorous through the adoption of fresh ideas and strategies that facilitate them in embracing the new dynamisms, trends and practices. Communication is another important tool to comprehend and address the people’s concerns, demands, problems and aspirations. It brings them closer to the electorates. It not only fosters affinity with the people but also builds an environment of trust between them.

Yawning gap

In Nepal, political parties have always been on frontline of struggles against the feudal and autocratic systems and regimes. Their credentials as democratic forces are beyond question but when it comes to realising the stated goals they set during the political movements or election times, they often come unstuck. They have nurtured an erroneous notion that as they played significant role in spearheading the political revolutions, they have privilege to be voted to power and exploit the spoils of the state again and again. There is a yawning gap between their pledge and performance. Their inability to translate the poll manifestoes into concrete outcomes has eroded their credibility. Their unilateral focus on winning election and grabbing power at all cost has frustrated the masses because power-centric politics has not only weakened the foundation of democracy but also held back economic growth and job creation necessary for decent living and happy life of people. 

When an election is reduced to one-day political fanfare, electoral democracy loses its sheen and efficacy. Nepali parties tend to spend their entire energy only on from one election to another. In-between, they fail to show their mettle. They miserably suffer from the shortage of the above-mentioned three essential elements - inner-party democracy, innovation and an animated communication with people. The top leadership’s authoritarian posture has shrunk the democratic space for critical discourse on party policy, programmes, and position on the key topics such as economic downturns and geopolitics, and vital Bills under consideration in the parliament, among others. 

A robust inner-party is prerequisite for constant innovation of ideas, vision and philosophy of the parties. Ideology and policy needs to be constantly reviewed and debated to adapt to the new contexts and developments. People’s priorities, choice and preferences change over the years. Unprecedented changes, brought by economic globalisation and digitalisation, and emergence of new world order should impel the parties, government and state to reset policies related to economy, security, citizenship, federal set-up and external affairs. The party committees must engage in policy debates, keeping national interest and sovereignty in the centre. They require offering inputs to the government in formulating key policies and laws. 

Similarly, inner-party democracy helps fill the intergenerational void that is afflicting virtually all major parties in the country. The call for leadership transfer to younger generation has been lost in the wilderness. The youths have either grown impatience or remained silence for fear of losing favour from the top leaders. The tendency to block the youths from moving to the higher echelons of leadership will eventually give rise to people’s disenchantment with politics. If the gerontocracy gets entrenched in the old parties, this can hardly assist in broadening the scope of democracy and institutionalising it.   

The communication between the parties and people not only renews their organic bond but also updates the parties about the inherent societal conditions. But Nepali parties reach out to the people mainly during the polls. Their occasional campaigns to interact with the grassroots people are largely driven by motive of increasing their election advantage, not receiving valuable inputs from the citizens. Currently, major parties are engaged in nation-wide campaign to strengthen their organisational base. For example, the main opposition CPN-UML is now on the final stage of its campaign ‘A resolution journey for prosperity’ that started from Baitadi around two months back. Similarly, the ruling CPN-Maoist Centre launched a programme entitled ‘Maoists with People: A Campaign for Special Transformation’ in early September this year and it continues to this day. 

Parties’ campaigns

The largest ruling party - Nepali Congress - has announced to conduct a month-long ‘Nepali Congress Nationwide Campaign in the Community’ from early January next year, which will cover all Wards of 753 local bodies and seek to increase the party members. It is interesting that these campaigns have taken place less than a year of three-tier elections. The UML has named its ‘Mission 84,’ targeting the upcoming elections due in 2084 B.S. In the last election, the people gave a mandate to UML to act as a constructive opposition in the parliament. Now the country is rocked by one corruption scam after another, and the UML must stand up to them and play a role to bring the culprits to book. Instead of fulfilling this onerous task, the UML is now engaged in a campaign supposed to start a couple of years later. It seems the main opposition has given a short shrift to the electoral mandate in pursuit of power.

The political dialogue should be a two-way communication in which both sides share information, ideas and experiences each other. But our parties have failed to embrace the basic thrust of communication. In their ongoing campaigns, they have not encouraged the people to deliberate on public policy and issues such as health, education and economy, and solicit their feedback for improving governance and service delivery.  The modus operandi of their drives is like this: The top leaders let out a stream of invectives at their rival parties, and their cadres and supporters clap and cheer in approval of the stale speeches. They are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

(The author is Deputy Executive Editor of this daily.)