Managing Politics Of Hope And Speculation

The formation of a new coalition government by the nation’s two dominant parties – Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) – on July 1 on the basis of seven-point agreement between their respective leaders – Sher Bahdur Deuba and K. P. Oli – has created both ripples of hopes and flurry of speculations. Hopes for a national consensus government emerged from its statement for political stability, constitutional amendment with broad-based consultation with political parties and stakeholders; pursue development to match people’s expectations, nation’s social and economic wellbeing, effective governance and stable foreign policy. The September 9 meeting of ruling parties – NC, CPN-UML, Janata Samajbadi Party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Nagrik Unmukti Party and Janamat Party – agreed to strengthen the unity of the coalition government. NC and CPN-UML have passed a resolution declaring that each will contest future elections on its own without any alignment with other parties. 

It is mainly done to satisfy the political preference of voters to stick to their own parties and not vote for other parties contrary to their ideological, organisational and leadership choice. It may affect the electoral prospects of many small parties and even CPN (Maoist-Center) which emerged third in rank but had outmaneuvered two dominant parties and run the reign of rule. CPN-UML’s reluctance to join Socialist Front and appeal to its former junior leaders to return to their mother party and assume responsibilities indicates the scale of deep distrust among the top leaders. The antinomies between democratic centralism practiced by all left parties in Nepal and the popular demand of inner party democracy will continue to spark the need for decentralization and democratization. Deference to the constitution is the basic stuff of political stability. The government boasts its successes in forming a full cabinet, sizable rise in the share market to vitalize private sectors and an agreement among NC, CPN-UML and CPN Moist-Centre on the lingering transitional justice, an agreement also welcomed by the Western nations. 

Transitional justice

Positive peace depends on how the contents of the transitional justice are implemented, resource mustered and victims find comfort in it. General stake on transitional justice may stick three mainstream parties in a common frame, despite their clashing tongues. The government’s coalition partners have constituted a four-member task force of NC and CPN-UML to prepare common minimum programmes and set certain priorities on poverty alleviation, corruption control, effective governance and production growth to reduce huge trade deficits. They are also struggling to muster behavioural coordination within the fractious groups of parties and forestall extra-constitutional challenges.  The rise in remittance corresponds to the growing number of migration of youths but in no way it helps to energize the local base of Nepali economy unless agriculture, hydropower, tourism and industries are revived and the nation is back on its feet through equilibrium of production and consumption.

The speculations are rife on three areas—another cycle of syndicate in power-sharing between NC and CPN-UML stoking the emotion of parties ousted from power and young leaders aspiring for inter-generational justice in leadership and putting a tab on various kinds of opposition and factional maneuverings. Countering the fear of CPN (Maoist-Centre) that the ruling coalition is moving into reverse gear of democratic achievements it said that the purpose of constitutional amendment is to further consolidate social inclusion, proportional representation and federal democratic republic. The twice-held multilevel elections have provided legitimacy to the rule but not efficiency in economic development, service delivery, political stability and control the malaises of society. It requires capacity building of the state by bolstering security, rule of law, production, regulation and service-delivering institutions and shoring up the national integrity system of public institutions.

The areas of reforms being articulated in the public sphere are: direct elections of head of government, enable the largest party in the parliament to run the government, improvement in proportional election system so that influence of money, cronyism and patronage for the selection or election of legislators are reduced and reform in party laws by scaling up of election threshold for the recognition of national party. The last one is aimed to reduce the number of small parties deemed as a source of power bargaining tool and cause of political instability for their swinging position and acting as free-riders. Political efficiency is needed in the meritocratic recruitment in the parliament, constitutional bodies and provincial and local structures of power. Federal parliament appeared weak in legislating laws in 38 areas pertaining to police, education, civil servants, National Security Council, corruption control etc. despite vaunting pledges of leaders to keep zero-tolerance to it.

The chairman of CPN (Maoist-Center) Puspa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has supported the constitutional amendment to empower people’s rights, direct election of executive head and fully proportional election system. Amendment of the constitution requires the approval of two-third majority of both houses of parliament –184 legislators – while the NC and CPN-UML together has only 167. Smaller parties are averse to scale up election threshold fearing the birth of a two-party system. Rastriya Prajatantra Party is fighting for the restoration of constitutional monarchy and Hindu state where a sizable number of NC leaders support the latter provision. Janamorcha Nepal has vowed to organize Kathmandu-centric anti-federal stir. Behind the drape of power Maoist-Center and CPN (Unified Socialist) seem more critical of Prime Minister K. P Oli and coaxing top NC leaders to swap sides to the old coalition. 

Prachanda is resorting to manifold strategies: openly calling for another political stir to check the rollback of democratic achievements, keep leverage in the Constitutional Council (CC) and vowed a nationwide drive against corruption as a way to political mobilisation for strengthening his party. Maoist-Centre and Rastriya Swotantra Party (RSP) have shown keenness to coordinate their strategies in the parliament and streets on shared issues. The opposition in Nepal is not only binary within the establishment but multi-pronged, some even anti-establishment, others revolutionary and some like RSP, raged over the possible impeachment of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Indira Rana and indictment on its President Rabi Lamichhane over cooperative fracas, has set a populist ballast. Smaller parties too seemed averse to this impeachment as they think that the government wants to have a monopoly in the CC, thus forcing the government to defer the issue. Effective governance lies in abiding constitutional spirit and hooking the dawdling opponents into democratic frame. Similarly, the problems of loan shark victims, cooperatives, microcredit, sugarcane and dairy farmers have to be settled quickly so that their stirs do not create a convulsive milieu for radical forces to overstep the state’s authority.

Leadership that aspires to practice democracy in Nepal must have democratic political culture shared by all parties and general people. Political stability can be attained if the embattled political executive is capable of reducing the inordinate costs of politics to the people, expedite progress by reviving anemic economy,  deliver public goods and find an exit of politics from the vicious labyrinth of controlled political instability. Virtues of Nepali leadership and its ability to pursue institutional culture are keys to good governance. As top leaders reveal themselves in terse, sardonic idioms, to accuse each other of causing a looming national crisis and exposing their flaws not-stop, they do reflect the shortfall of democratic decency. In no way do they exhibit a collective sense of getting on with the various sub-cultures of the nation and upgrade their skills and legitimacy in managing them so that instability does not dash democratic hope.

Harmony

One concern is a high-stake twist in leadership succession. The other concern is the vacuity of ideological and ethical questions of parties’ grassroots affinity. Still the other is its inability to balance the educational need of voters to become critical and acquire individuality embedded in civic autonomy. Nepalis need political socialisation to evolve adaptive conduct conforming democratic values and practices. Socialisation seeks a harmony of social, vocational and civic life while education builds acceptable habits of getting along with fellow leaders and citizens without losing one’s own sense of individuality.  Building character of the people, public servants and leaders attuned to timely change is central to democratic nation-building. The illusion of false perception, fatalism and propaganda discourages the growth of political maturity of leaders and people. But when constitutional ideals and political practices are often at odds with each other, ordinary Nepalis find politics too winding to know, producing a situation which is likely to create groups distrustful of each other.

The conscious Nepalis are less serene as they see a hiatus among what they know about democratic praxis, leaders paternalistic conduct and rusting condition of society. They face unpleasant standoffs among attaining value-creation, overcoming herd mentality and achieving common good by keeping the congruity of formal political system and informal political culture.  Good public policies in Nepal bear positive effects by altering the wretched human condition, apt management of national affairs and balancing national tradition and rationalism of modernity. This entails utilising the productive energies of young Nepalis in the nation and stemming the mounting speculations as to whether informal political culture can advance robust institutions to foster sustainable progress. Delight of people in the leadership, politics and polity can prevent the nation’s relapse into another cycle of political complexity.

(Former Reader at the Department of Political Science, TU, Dahal writes on political and social issues.)