First things first

Written By Admin on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 | 11:19 PM

JUL 12 -

That the political parties have agreed to bring a partial budget is a positive sign. In the preceding weeks, it appeared that the government’s insistence to pass a full budget would bring it into conflict not just with the opposition parties, but also with the President. Had Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai decided to submit a full budget to the President, and had the latter refused to accept it, another major political crisis could have arisen. There would have been open conflict between the President and the Prime Minister regarding who possesses ultimate authority in the current political vacuum. In the circumstances, it was thus best to avoid such a direct confrontation. By reaching an agreement with the opposition political parties, the government has prevented drawing the President into direct politics. It has demonstrated that it is the political parties that continue to be responsible for matters of governance.

This is, however, only a small first step. Major problems continue. The opposition parties are worried that the government will continue to expand and consolidate its authority, often with reckless abandon. To them, PM Bhattarai has done little to reach out to opposition parties and is playing a dangerous waiting game to allow important constitutional positions to become vacant (in Election Commission and CIAA, for eg) to gradually usurp state power and continue to remain in office long term. The Maoists and Madhesi forces, on the other hand, are concerned that if they leave the government, there will be a significant regression in the gains of the preceding years. In particular, they fear that the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, if allowed to lead government, will refuse to either reinstate the Constituent Assembly or hold elections and will instead seek to promulgate a constitution through a non-transparent body that will backtrack on promises to federalism.

The most important current task at present is for the both the sides to reach out to each other and ameliorate fears. Recent efforts by the Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal deserve appreciation. The Maoist-led government has to demonstrate that it does not intend to remain in government indefinitely and marginalise other parties. The Nepali Congress and the UML also need to convince the Maoists and Madhesis that they do not want to reverse the gains of recent years. For this, it is necessary for a broad agreement to be reached before the government is replaced. This agreement will need to include commitments regarding the content of the constitution and the method of its promulgation. Otherwise, there needs to be broad agreement to hold fresh elections as soon as possible. An agreement that does not include these provisions will not be possible as the Maoists and Madhesi parties will not have any incentive to leave government without receiving any guarantees in return.

 


Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/07/12/editorial/first-things-first/356971/

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