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On/Off the Record

By P.R. Pradhan

One of the main agendas for the formation of the Nepali Congress-UML coalition government was the amendment of the Constitution. The two supreme leaders, Sher Bahadur Deuba and K.P. Sharma Oli saw the main hurdle for political stability was the electoral system, therefore, the two leaders decided to amend the constitution promulgated in 2015.

According to the leaders of the ruling parties, the plan is to remove the proportional election system in the provinces and also set a threshold of 10 percent from the existing three percent so that only two political parties can emerge as the national parties and the rest political parties would not cross the threshold. The main idea is to introduce a two-party rule sidelining the rest of the political parties. The basic idea is to rule the country by NC and UML turn by turn, which is not acceptable for other political parties.

Responding to questions from the Members of Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli at the Parliament meeting, again reiterated that that the constitution will be amended as per the need. He, however, clarified that other political parties’ consent will be taken while amending the constitution.

Obtaining consent from other political parties will be like opening Pandora’s Box as all the small parties will oppose the 10% threshold. The third largest party, the Maoist Center, will demand a directly elected president. On the other hand, the Rastriya Prajanantra Party (RPP) will demand a Hindu kingdom along with the removal of the federal structure. Therefore, a consensus on the amendment agenda is impossible unless the political parties and their leaders look after the greater interests of the nation.

If the two leaders, Oli and Deuba, are keen to amend the constitution in the greater interests of the country, an all-sector roundtable conference should be called and the constitution amendment process should be started as per the aspiration of the Nepali people. Mainly, the constitution should be amended to ensure a lasting peace and the nation’s prosperity. Besides, the political actors, if wish to end domestic disputes, should focus on giving space to all the political forces.

The major issue is that the 2015 constitution was drafted by Western experts in the interests of the Western powers, which didn’t suit the Nepali environment. Therefore, the present—federalism, secularism and republicanism—should be scrapped by introducing a Hindu kingdom. Otherwise, the political actors, who had defined the 1990 constitution as the best constitution in the globe, can introduce the very constitution for the betterment of the nation and the people.

We believe the best solution to bring political stability, economic prosperity and lasting peace to the country could be the restoration of the 1990 constitution. Presently, due to the functioning of the expensive political system by feeding around 40 thousand people’s representatives and their advisors and aides, the country’s revenue is in deficit by around four trillion rupees. If we scrap the seven provinces and other unnecessary structures including the district coordination committees, the nation doesn’t need to borrow debts and we can use more funds for development sectors, which will help to bring economic prosperity. We believe a country with around 90 percent of the population belonging to the Omkar family, introducing a Hindu nation is not odd. Also, we didn’t find a guardian’s role in the president, therefore, we are for the restoration of the institution of monarchy.

The country cannot bear the heavy financial and other burdens of the present political system. Moreover, we cannot ensure the sovereignty and independence of the nation under the present political system. We are for a Nepali identity, which we can get if the nation’s sovereignty and independence are protected. We don’t believe that present-day political leaders can ensure the aspirations of the entire Nepali nationals.