Farcical Constitutional Assembly Eelections

Gorkhali Nepal
April 12, 2007

BY SHASHI MALLA
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=24160

The attempt to hold elections to the ‘Constituent Assembly’ (CA) on June 20 of this year is taking on ridiculous and senseless forms. And even the discussion on the pros and cons of the CA at this point in time remain largely restricted to the leaders of the political parties and their supporting media persons. No person in his right mind can support the elections with the country’s disjointed political state in the present situation.

First, the time frame is too ambitious. The Election Commission (EC) is in no position to guarantee a proper functioning of the election process. Preparations have started too late. Voters’ lists have not been completed

An early onset of the monsoons would cause havoc with the modalities of the elections. The Chief Election Commissioner, Bhoj Raj Pokharel has already claimed that by announcing the date for elections in a hurry, Nepal has already lost its credibility in the international arena.

Second, it is most doubtful whether the elections can be ‘free and fair’. The Maoists have joined the government, but it seems that they have taken this as a right to continue doing what they have been doing all these years, namely extortion and intimidation. Their latest ‘democratic’ action has been to capture the office of the Kavre village development committee, bordering just west of the Kathmandu Valley.

Even their partners in the government have roundly condemned them for their recent atrocities in Kalikot district in West Nepal. Since the Maoist minister for Information and Communications, Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been appointed the government spokesman, we can expect a Himalayan-level of ‘doubles-speak’ in the future. The Maoist supreme Prachanda has already made the delphic statement that they will continue the ‘People’s War strategy’ via "other means".

Third, the EC and the government have yet to invite a fair number of international observers to monitor the CA-elections. There have to be enough observers to be spread around the whole country. A few well-meaning observers from the Carter Centre in America won’t do. There must be monitors from the United Nations, the European Community, neighbouring countries and the major stake-holders.Fourth, there is a big question mark regarding the security situation in various parts of the country. The law and order situation has not improved and remains tense as it was before the formation of the ‘interim government’. Depending only on the police will be disastrous. Employing the Maoist militias would be outright catastrophic and an internal deployment of the Nepalese Army seems impractical — it seems unlikely that the Maoists would allow the Army to deploy into areas they consider ‘liberated’.Fifth, the CA-elections must be held simultaneously in all parts of the country and not in a staggered manner to avoid distortion of the results. At the present juncture, it is not even sure that these can be held in the southern parts of the country. Sixth, and this is the most telling argument against holding CA-elections, the rationale for holding these now is seriously questionable. Most importantly, the overwhelming majority of the Nepalese people, including our political leaders, are totally unaware of the significance of the CA! This is a momentous point in our nation’s history, but we are oblivious of the decision-making process and the issues involved. The very peoples’ tribunes who are clamouring for the CA-elections on June 20 –lead by Girija Prasad Koirala of the Nepali Congress (NC), Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka ‘Prachanda’ of the Maoists and Madhav Kumar Nepal of the United Marxists-Leninists (UML)—are keeping the people in the dark on all aspects of the elections. It is not even clear what mandate the constituent assembly to be elected will have.

If—as seems to be the case -- the political leaders and parties in power want to perpetuate their hold on power, then they will not be interested in a constituent assembly which is empowered to overturn the status quo. Even before the outcome of the CA-elections, they have been attempting to preempt the structure of the future state.The political establishment speaks with various tongues. Whereas, PM Koirala insists that the CA-elections can be held on time if the parties work unitedly, his own daughter, chief adviser and political strategist, Sujata Koirala has gone on record to state that because of the myriad problems, it would not “be wise” to hold elections “amid confusion and dissatisfaction”. However, the sooner the elections are held, the more likely the re-election of the current government.

It seems, therefore, that the government is caught between securing its re-election and the impracticability to complete the vote preparation in the remaining time window. If Koirala is going to be candidate, from which constituency will he hold forth? It will be difficult for any Parbate to stand in the Terai and above all to win. UML-boss, M.K. Nepal has poured oil on troubled waters by accusing Koirala and the NC of hatching conspiracies in conjunction with Royalists and domestic and international regressive forces to derail the election process with the aim is to prevent the Leftists (UML and Maoists?) from achieving a majority in the CA.What should have been crystal clear considering the antics of the present government, has now been –belatedly —recognized by the UN and a section of the international community.

The UN-Secretary General’s personal representative, Ian Martin has now informed Koirala through his foreign affairs advisor, as well as Maoist Chairman Prachanda and UML-general secretary Nepal directly, that the CA-polls were not “technically and politically feasible” at the present juncture. Martin is supposed to have raised the issues of the Terai and other ethnic groups. What he left unsaid was the fact that the management of Maoist arms, as well as, the so-called verification process of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and militias are total farce. What can the common man do to foil the selfish personal and party interests of the current government leaders? In a colossal joke, Koirala announced last Sunday that ministers indulging in “financial irregularities or corruption” would be sacked. In this atmosphere of great confusion and decadence, voices of reason are few and far between. No leader of stature has emerged to defend the nation’s vital interests.

However, as the Romans said, ‘everyman is the architect of his own destiny’. Passive resistance is the answer, not armed force. With proper planning and recruitment, the current care-taker government can be brought to its knees by judicious tactics and strategy of civil disobedience with the objective to install a government of national unity and reconciliation which will prepare CA-election in a realistic time-frame.

(Source:People's news)