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By Narayan Prasad Mishra

We consider multiparty democracy as the best form of the political system that guarantees equality, freedom, and justice. In general, this is true. You can enjoy the freedom of speech, along with many other human rights and fundamental rights, and have equality under this system governed by the law and constitution. If anyone – high or low in status – tries to snatch your rights, you can go to court for justice. From these points, there is no doubt that it is the best form of the political system. The presence of multiple parties ensures that no single entity monopolizes power, thus reducing the risk of authoritarianism and promoting accountability.

However, there are many challenges to running this system that undermine its integrity. We all know that parties need to establish offices throughout the country for public relations and to propagate their ideology, principles, and programs to the people. At the same time, they need a tremendous amount of money to finance campaigns during elections. Because of this, money plays a significant role in this system. The money needed to run parties efficiently and effectively cannot be met by party members in a poor country like Nepal. In fact, everyone intends to earn money, not to give it to someone in our situation. Undoubtedly, parties need to depend on wealthy people, businesspeople, industrialists, etc., for their source of income, which makes them dependent and obligated to them. This situation makes parties work for the donors’ interests rather than for the country’s development and the welfare of the people. Donors always take the opportunity to exploit the party in government to recollect much more money through different tricks at the expense of the nation and the party. Our prominent party leaders are more aware of it because they are directly involved in it and have first-hand experience. They can not deny this version if they are truly honest with the nation and people. Everybody knows this is an open secret.

Additionally, parties attempt to acquire funds to meet their requirements and luxuries through various means – bribery, kickbacks, favoritism, extortion, etc. In this context,  corrupt leaders often siphon off a portion of these funds for personal gain, exploiting party resources for their own wealth and advantage. In a country where the majority of people are uneducated, parties that can accumulate large amounts of money can gain more members and followers and mobilize more people to influence a large number of voters and win elections through financial power. They even buy votes. Honest parties that have no intention of collecting money with irregularities and are not capable of doing so are always weak and have difficulty winning elections to form a government.

We can definitely say that the funds collected by influence or pressure illegally and secretly, either for a party or for a leader, is corruption. From the above points, it is clear that multiparty democracy and corruption are inseparable and correlated. They are like two sides of a coin; the system cannot exist without corruption. Corruption is the backbone of this system. It is not based on honesty, integrity, morality, and purity. We can clearly see this scenario in our country after the introduction of multiparty democracy. It seems that almost all parties capable of forming the government are involved in corruption scandals – such as the Lalita Niwas land corruption scandal, the fake Bhutanese refugee corruption scandal, the gold smuggling corruption scandal, the Giribandhu Tea State corruption scandal, the tax settlement corruption scandal, the cantonment fund corruption scandal, the unpaid electricity bills corruption scandal, etc. There are dozens of corruption scandals, which we may not need to list here. Corruption is rampant in the country, like air everywhere. You can smell and feel it like air, but you cannot see it. It seems we have more corruption scandals than development projects. That is why our development is slow and sluggish.

Furthermore, the presence of numerous political parties can fragment political power, often resulting in coalition governments. While coalitions may represent diverse interests, they can lead to unstable governance characterized by horse-trading and policy gridlock. In such scenarios, political compromises may prioritize short-term gains over long-term public welfare. This environment can foster bureaucratic inefficiencies and legislative deadlock, potentially enabling corrupt practices to flourish. These challenges are evident in our country through frequent changes in prime ministers and governmental instability, which often exceed our expectations.

It is also true that the competitive nature of multiparty politics can foster a culture of patronage and nepotism, where loyalty to party leaders or factions outweighs meritocracy and competence. This can undermine merit-based appointments and weaken public trust in institutions, perpetuating cycles of corruption and eroding the democratic values that we are experiencing.

We need to adopt a multi-faceted approach to address the challenges mentioned earlier. Undoubtedly, we all want democracy, but certainly, we do not want a corrupt democracy that does not yield any benefits to the people and the country. Now, our country has had a good experience with the then-partyless Panchayat Democracy introduced by King Mahendra and the current Multiparty Democracy brought by multiparty lovers. In this context, I sincerely and honestly feel that if we can study and analyze both systems we have experienced without any bias and create a new political system adopting the partyless features of Panchayat Democracy and the democratic rights, including human rights and fundamental rights, of the current Multiparty Democracy, we can create a suitable democratic system for our country. Additionally, we can create practical regulations for political funding, campaign finance, and accountability for elected officials.

Furthermore, we can promote effective civic education to empower voters with critical thinking skills and knowledge of democratic processes that can enhance public vigilance against corruption. I sincerely urge all, and especially our young leaders and groups voicing for the change for the development of the country and the welfare of the people without any other selfish motive, to seriously give thought to my proposal for the new political system as mentioned above. Our bitter experiences and suffering have proved that the dire condition of our country and people cannot be changed without changing the present corrupt system. I also hope that Rabi Lamicchane and his Rashtriya Swatantra Praty will realize it soon.

While multiparty democracy provides a platform for inclusive governance and political representation, it also introduces inherent vulnerabilities to corruption. Democracy’s ability to fight corruption depends on strong institutions, honest leaders, and citizens who are well-informed and involved. Addressing these challenges by addressing innovative political systems that blend partyless features with the guaranteed democratic rights of a multiparty system and by reinforcing democratic norms and practices, societies can progress towards a more equitable, transparent, and accountable governance framework. This approach ensures that the advantages of democracy surpass its shortcomings.

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