Confusion in constitution-making (Nepal)

The movement of Nepal's political evolution has recently been similar to that of a pendulum, swinging between breathtaking advances that are nothing less than historic, and political stalemate between bickering parties. Over the course of the past month, the elected Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic, putting an end to the monarchy and, with it, the 240-year-old Shah dynasty. Belying all kinds of fears to the contrary, Gyanendra Shah, the deposed king, left the Narayanhiti Palace peaceably with a farewell press conference. The former royal palace has since been officially converted into the Narayanhiti Palace Museum, though it has yet to actually open its doors in this new iteration.

And yet, the people could not get a sense of real movement because, fully two months after the results of the 10 April elections were announced, the Constituent Assembly was unable to meet for any substantive sitting to focus on the real issue at hand: the task of writing the new constitution. The numerous decisions left pending in order to get to the April elections in the first place emerged as political stumbling blocks between the various political parties and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). These have included the 'management' of the 19,000-odd Maoist combatants; who exactly will be included as members of the National Security Council, and so on.