EDITORIAL FROM THE REGION

The Himalayan Times (Nepal) -- 19 December 2007

Encouraging signs

The Seven Party Alliance is reported to have come closer to agreement on most of the remaining points. The SPA decision to amend the Interim Constitution to reschedule the month of the constituent assembly election to mid-April after reaching broad agreement on the settlement package stressed the commitment of the political parties to hold the election within four months. The SPA-formed task force has now come up with a 20-point recommendation, that says, among other things, that it will not be necessary to mention anything about the monarchy or the king while enshrining in the Constitution the declaration that Nepal is a republic subject to the endorsement of it by the first meeting of the CA. Indeed, there is not any need of such mention, because the Constitution is already silent on the monarchy, except the proviso that the CA will decide the future of the monarchy at its first meeting by simple majority.

How the amendment is worded will be significant. Making the republic subject to the decision of the first meeting will be saying less definitively on the monarchy’s future than that the first CA meeting will endorse it. The first wording leaves open, at least theoretically, an escape route. Nevertheless, the SPA partners will be bound by it, all the more so because each of them has made republic one of its election planks. A post-dated republic will at least serve one purpose: It will largely remove doubt that each party may be harbouring about other parties — that they might go back on their word regarding the issue once the election is held. Similarly, the task force has also come up with the recommendation that the CA strength be increased to 601 members from the existing agreed strength of 497 — only the proportionally elected and nominated seats will increase in number, not the first-past-the-post seats.

The Maoists do not seem to have any objection to even the 40:60 seats between the two electoral systems, though they would prefer to have full proportionality. Their main contention, however, is that whatever the ratio, it should be decided by a political conference of ‘all stakeholders’. It is for the SPA to decide whether such a conference would affect the fresh time limit of mid-April; if not, there is no harm in carrying out the idea. The election deadline must not be missed again. The task force, in its text, is also reported to have sought full commitment from the Maoists to the polls once the new agreement is formalised. The task force recommendations seek full compliance of all the parties with the peace process, including the formation three commissions pledged in the Comprehensive Peace Accord — those on national peace and rehabilitation, truth and reconciliation, and recommendation for state restructuring. Similarly, the adjustment process of the Maoist combatants, which is a crucial part of the peace process, will have to be addressed properly at the same time. Prachanda in his interview and statements after Saturday’s SPA decision on a new election timeframe has clearly said that the Maoists will go into election mode after the new agreement. This is a positive sign.