![]() So, in order to install a government, which could hold fair and free elections, a credible government is needed. The parties who received people’s mandate over six years back cannot claim their sole right to form an all-party government. The seven-party alliance may ignore other parties but the issue remains alive. There are more than 100 political parties registered with the Election Commission (EC). This also raises a question about the parties who would participate in such a government. This has already been the view of many, including the leaders of parties. One way to create such an atmosphere is to form an all-party government. The political parties must demand the creation of an atmosphere for fair and free elections. However, the boycott is not going to help the process of reconciliation and bring the Constitution back on track. One cannot rule it out that it could have been motivated by doubtful intentions. ![]() The government has declared a will to hold elections. However, the polling has to be fair and free to reflect true public opinion. So any election could be used to seek public opinion on the respective issues. Any election is fought by the political parties or independents on the basis of their manifestos or plans and programmes. The seven-party alliance has declared a boycott of the general elections as well as the municipal polls and have not declared their opinion of holding elections to the Constituent Assembly.Īll the political forces should seek public opinion on their respective platforms in order to let the people express their opinion through ballots. The government has declared that it will hold general elections by mid-April 2007. This demand of the Maoists has been lately getting wider support. The Maoists have been insisting on holding elections for a Constituent Assembly. ![]() Under the present circumstances, unless all the political forces agree to let the people express their opinion through ballots there would be no other way to fathom popular will. The only way to let the people choose is to hold a poll to seek their opinion. This raises the question as to how the common people can choose one of the three forms of democracy as defined by the Maoists, the monarchists and the seven party alliance. The word ‘democracy’ symbolises the will of the people. For 30 years the party-less system survived but ultimately withered away because of its own inner contradictions. The attempt to re-define democracy is not new in the Nepali context. The statement of the foreign minister at the UN forum that every nation has a right to choose a democratic form according to its peculiarity and needs, and vice-chairman Dr Tulsi Giri’s statement regarding the King’s role are ample proof that the monarchists have their own definition of democracy, multiparty system and constitutional monarchy. However, some ministers of the King’s cabinet have made attempts to redefine democracy. The King, in his proclamation, reiterated his faith and commitment to the constitutional monarchy and the multiparty system. The seven-party alliance stands to uphold the present Constitution with certain alterations to empower the marginalised segments of the population. The Maoists’ concept of democracy is that, as the result of the success of their revolution, a people’s democracy would be established in which the haves of today (‘exploiters’ is the term used by them) shall have to submit their fundamental rights to the have-nots of today (‘people’ is the term used by them). All the three political forces have their own definition of democracy. A deep analysis of the reasons is obvious. It has been acknowledged that the present conflict in the country is due to the lack of dialogue between and among the major political forces - the monarchists, the seven-party alliance and the Maoist Communists. How can Nepalis choose one of the three forms of democracy as defined by the three political forces?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |