Nepal and The Constitution

Daniel Berman is a Political Analyst who has written for and been quoted by a number of publications including CNN and The Cook Political Report. Daniel shares his views on the constitution of Nepal with The Karachi Voice. 

Follow him on twitter @DanielBerman2 

Simha Durbar - The seat of government in Nepal (via ekatinpur.com)

Parliaments are rarely known for efficiency, but even by the often low standards set by its neighbours; Nepal’s Constitutional Assembly has certainly failed to give voters their money’s worth. Elected in the aftermath of the fall of King Gyanendra’s royal dictatorship in 2008, it began inauspiciously with a dispute over the electoral system, and whether a Republic would be declared before or after the election of the assembly. In the end compromises were reached on both issues, an agreement which remains the Assembly’s sole substantive achievement. Despite the presence of the term “Constitutional” in its title and presumably its job description, the abolition of the monarchy was its first and last act of constitution-making.

A partial explanation for this failure lies in spectacular success of the Maoist Rebels in the Assembly elections, a success whose impact was ironically exacerbated by the insistence of the non-Communist parties led by the Nepali Congress on electing 40% of the seats in single-member distracts. As a result, the Maoists, with 29% of the vote, won 38% of the seats. Together with the 18% of seats won by the Marxist-Lenninists, Communist parties controlled a solid majority of the Assembly or would have had they been willing to work together. In practice this did not occur, forcing the Maoists to form a minority government tolerated by the non-Communist parties, a government which lasted for a little over a year before it was ousted by a an unholy alliance of the Marxist-Lenninists and the Nepali Congress. 

The Nepalese Communist Party banner painted on the Prithvi Highway in Nepal. (Via pbase.com) The best thing that can be said about these political squabbles is that they did not result in a return to civil war; the Maoists, despite the dubiously constitutional behavior of President Ram Buran Yadav of the Neplali Congress and their own removal from power did not restart the Civil War. That speaks well of their commitment to the political process, far better than their actual performance in government. Nonetheless its about the only good thing that can be said of the last five years that have otherwise been swallowed by these sorts of inter-scene political conflicts. Few expect this week’s elections to substantially shift the balance of forces within the Assembly, and if anything they may well make the divisions worse – politics has so utterly polarised for and against the Maoists that the real losers look likely to be the smaller parties that tried to make the Assembly work. 

Yet behind the political failures of the Nepalese elite a more hopeful story is taking place. While Nepal may have made little progress in the governmental sphere, a transformation has taken place in Nepalese society. The end of the Civil War in 2006 has allowed an economic recovery which has been assisted by an unprecedented effort to expand educational opportunities in the rural areas from which the Maoist rebels drew their greatest support. Neglected for years by the Royalist governments, hundreds of new schools have been established, and new local governments have proven far more accountable than the Assembly in Kathmandu. Growth since 2008 has averaged more than 5% annually, far from the boom seen in China, but faster than neighboring India. Even the Assembly itself has had its redeeming characteristics; the Royal government ran a stultifying police state, with extensive censorship of the media, and legal protections that were honored more in the breach than in practice. The very weakness of the Assembly has allowed a flowering of independent newspapers and an unprecedented opening of political debate. While bombings marred the electoral campaign, the very horror that greeted them was a sign of how far the country has come. 

 

The nation is also facing a religious transformation. According to tradition, Siti Devi of the Ramayana was born within the country as was Buddha, and it was widely believed that the Hindu god Vishnu created the nation’s flag. For centuries the monarchy was associated with its theocratic founder and it is overthrow the nation has begun a secular transformation. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 2007, and the proposed draft constitution included recognition of same-sex marriage prior to the dissolution of the Assembly this year. At the same time, the leading parties have unanimously come out in favour of ending Hinduism’s predominant role in the state and establishing social equality. 

That Nepal seems to be moving in a secular and liberal direction is all the more surprising given developments within its neighbors. India is on the verge of electing in the Hindu Nationalist Narendra Modi as its next Prime Minister, while Pakistan has seen a religious revival symbolised by the rise of the Pakistani Taliban. That Nepal has seen a contrary movement is both proof that such movements are not inevitable in the region, and perhaps a hint that outside factors such as; US drone strikes, rather than democratic pressure, lie behind the Pakistani religious revival. 

In any event, even if the elections for a new Constituent Assembly fail to produce a stable government, recent developments in Nepal may indicate that the state does not necessarily need one. Despite the repeated failures of the political process, Nepal is a freer, prosperous, and more peaceful nation than it was five years ago, and there are strong reasons to suspect that the future will be brighter still. Now if only they could get that constitution approved.