Election of constituent assembly and viable options
-CP Gajurel
Election of constituent assembly, which was an agenda only of CPN-Maoist (CPN-M) before 6 years, has become the agenda of the nation and central political question of today's politics of Nepal . The election of the constituent assembly stipulated to be held on the mid-June 07 has been repeatedly postponed and there is serious doubt among the people of Nepal and abroad whether it will really be held or not. Who is responsible for repeatedly postponing the election? When the election is being postponed for several times as a result of the underhand play of the regressive elements within the country and their foreign mentors, they are able to further use this opportunity to hatch further conspiracies either to create a situation for indefinite postponement of the election or to use it for the restoration of the lost paradise? Thus the constituent assembly has taken the centre stage of Nepalese polity.
It is not an isolated process
Some political parties are deliberately spreading a wrong notion that election of constituent assembly is the one which solves all the problems of the people and state of Nepal . They are explaining this question in a way as if it is above every-thing including the peace process. They go to the extent that the election should be held in the fixed date by hook or by crook, even by using the Nepal army which has now been confined into the army barracks. By so doing they do not care even about the breach of the code of conduct of the peace process. But the major question is whether the election of the constituent assembly is the part of the peace process or the peace process is itself part of the election of constituent assembly. The first is true but not the second. The election of the constituent assembly is not an isolated process. It is part and parcel of the peace process. To consider the peace process subordinate to the election of constituent assembly is a big blunder which can pave the way for endangering the peace process by breaching the accepted norms and code of conduct.
What the election should fulfill?
People who are talking too much about the election of the constituent assembly preach that the election should be held and it must be held. They explain that the sole role of the political parties is to hold the election. When asked about the aim of holding the election their explanation is that they do not know about it. Only the result will say what its aim is. They are trying to project themselves as the champion and most loyal to the election and all others are not. They like to take the credit of being number one pro-election party. Most important thing in this regard is to understand what we are going to achieve through the election. If only the "election" can solve the problems, why so many "elections" that were held in the past could not solve the problem? Why was it necessary to boycott the "elections"? One should remember the historic fact why all the political parties of Nepal decided to boycott the "local level election" organized by the royal government during its last tenure.
It is necessary to understand one very important fact that it is not like a periodical election. This election has definitely a specific aim that has to be fulfilled. It is mandatory for this election to fulfill the mandate of the popular Mass Movement-2. The heroic people of Nepal have already acquired democratic republic from the street and assigned the responsibility to the political parties which they considered as the leaders of the mass movement to institutionalize what they already achieved. Therefore the aim of this election has already been determined by the all powerful Mass Movement-2 which grew basing itself on the ground laid by the ten years of the People's War. Going against the mandate laid by the Mass Movement is definitely a regressive step which the Nepalese people will not like. If the mandate of the Mass Movement is violated or defied, it will only invite the fury of the Masses. In such a situation it will simply be impossible to give a forward looking solution to the society, establish perpetual peace and pave the way for a new Nepal .
Why the two points' demand?
Our party has put forward a charter of 22 points demands. Among them 20 points are related to those demands which were agreed upon by the government to fulfill during various agreements and understandings. There are two major political issues which we think is necessary to be fulfilled as prerequisites for the conducive atmosphere to hold the election. Some people are engaged in accusing our party that the election of the constituent assembly has been thwarted because of these demands. But the real story is entirely different.
The whole agreements including the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) were based on the objective of holding the election of constituent assembly by June 15, 2007. We compromised even in serious issues solely relying on the parties that the election will be held on the stipulated date. In spite of the broad agreement reached among the 7 parties and our party the election was not held at the excuse that some technical preparations were not properly accomplished. It was obvious that the conspiracy of aborting the process of election succeeded in its objective. Who is really responsible for the abandonment of the election should be determined by the facts mentioned above?
Some people suggest that the king has been weakened after the promulgation of the interim constitution so much that he can not play any negative role even if he wants to disrupt the process of election of constituent assembly and so on. But it is far from being true. Though some rights of the king have been curtailed but still monarchy has not been removed and it is continuing and using its authority in different ways. King is definitely not simply an individual. Rather it is an institute and represents a class of gentry and the corrupt people who also shared the looting by misusing the state. Many of the top rank officials of the Nepal army, whose suffix only has been removed from Royal Nepal Army, are still expressing their loyalty to the king. The Bush administration and the Hindu fundamentalist organizations of India are actively supporting the king's bid to come back. Therefore it is either naïve or deceptive to preach that king has no clout to influence election process or the political process of Nepal . It is an open secret that the king is behind the organized criminal activities in some district of Madhesh in which many innocent people have lost their lives, lost their properties and have become victims of communal violence. The bomb explosion which claimed the lives of three innocent people in Kathmandu and the communal violence in Kapilbastu that claimed the lives of over 50 innocent people and made thousands of people homeless are the tragic events in which the king is suspected behind. How the king went to take the blessing from the Kumari as a king and head of state during the traditional festival is well known.
The separatist elements, which are spreading terror in Madhesh, have used the emotional issue of full proportional electoral system to create trouble. If the political parties failed to address the genuine demands of proportional election the same secessionist elements will utilize the Madhesi masses to create further chaos and disruptive activities and communal violence. Janajati people, dalits, women are also demanding that they want proportional election for their proper representation in the constituent assembly. Some ministers suggest that the election must be held but the army should be deployed. This is undoubtedly a historic election which has a very big responsibility to resolve the political crisis which prevailed in Nepal for the last many many years, it has to give a forward looking way out and it should pave the way for making a new Nepal .
Given the circumstances as mentioned above our party has genuinely put forward the two major points as the pre-requisites of the election for constituent assembly, namely `the republic should be declared from the legislative parliament and that the electoral system should be proportional. Some people blame us for raising the new issues. But one who has even little knowledge of the peace process can easily understand that, while submitting our proposals in making new interim constitution, has mentioned these two demands. It is true that relying on the pledges of the other political parties, especially the Nepali Congress (NC), we suspended these demands temporarily, which we think now as a mistake. We have now rectified the mistakes of the past and we also make a plea to all other parties for the same.
Therefore we like to make it clear that these demands have been raised to create conducive atmosphere for the election and not at all to disrupt the process of the election.
Whether consensus can be achieved?
In our initiative, 87 members of the legislature have filed a special petition on October 11, 07 to call the special session of the legislature parliament in our demand that `republic should be declared' and `the electoral process should be fully proportional' . There was intensive discussion among all the political parties and especially among the major political parties during the two days gap but no way out was at hand. Again the date for the discussion on the proposal in order to find the consensus has been extended for two more days. There is no such imminent possibility to reach at the consensus until these versions have been written. However, the efforts are on. It looks like Nepali Congress party will not accept the terms. Because, they think once the election is held at the mode of proportional electoral system, they will lose their seats considerably. There is also wide spread fear among the parties of Nepal and abroad that the Maoist will bag majority of seats if the election is held under the proportional mode of election.
Nepali Congress is reluctant in fulfilling these demands. It is quite understandable. But the role of UML is quite strange. UML claims that it has inborn quality of being `republican' . As far as the question of `full proportional election' is concerned, they claim themselves as the champion of it. But when the time has come for its implementation, they take different position in the pretext that it will hamper the process of election. If UML supports the demands raised by the Maoist party in the legislature parliament, the leftists will be in the majority. It will not be so easy for the NC to reject it out-rightly. In that case, it may be possible to reach at a consensus, which will pave the way for the peaceful and timely election.
The internal parleys may or may not be able to bring the parties to the consensus. The political reality in the given situation of Nepal is such that we should move with the consensus. So, the unity among the parties is necessary until new constitution is written. Taking the reality into account, our party will try its level best to maintain unity among the seven parties and strive hard to achieve the consensus.
What are the options?
It is obvious that our first priority is to reach at a consensus at the two major political demands put forward by our party. If `republic' is not declared and the full proportional electoral process is not decided to be adopted from the current special session of the legislature parliament, there is no other option left for our party other then taking to the streets. We are very sincerely and seriously studying the mood of the masses. The heroic people of Nepal are still ready to take to the street but are not ready to give up the demand that republic should be institutionalized through the election. The people of Madhesh, jatis and janajatis, women, lower caste people will only be satisfied when their major demands of full proportional election is fulfilled. So, we have kept both the options open. In both the cases the election of constituent assembly should be held either with the consensus of the seven parties and by the decision of the legislative parliament or by the success of the mass movement. There is no doubt that the people of Nepal should win.

(The writer is in-chanrge of international command, CPN-Maoist)

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