Global Issues
POLITICS-NEPAL: Himalayan Nation Split Over Federalism
Agreeing to turn Nepal from a constitutional monarchy into a federal state is turning out to be much easier than agreeing on exactly what kind of federal system is best for this Himalayan country.
As a result of disagreement on this issue, the thorniest among a host of other matters, the country’s 601-member constituent assembly is poised to miss its two-year deadline of drawing up a new constitution by May 28.
An interim constitution has been place in the country since 2007, when Nepal’s major political parties agreed to transform this country of 27.5 million people into a federal state after sustained protests in its southern plains.
Accusing the state of systematically discriminating against them, the Madhesis — the people of the plains or the Tarai — had demanded a separate state in the plains stretching from the east to the west of Nepal.
While the demand for a separate state in the plains has long lost steam following a split in the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum — the party that led the protests in the Tarai — the major political parties are divided over an ethnicity-based 14-province model that was forwarded for the assembly’s approval by its state restructuring committee.
There are 103 ethnic groups in Nepal, according to official statistics.
These political changes — and pains — are coming in the years after a bloody decade-old war by Maoist rebels against the state ended in 2006 and paved the way for Nepal’s political parties and Maoists to abolish the monarchy and set up a republic.
As part of this political transition, the country voted in a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution. In its first sitting on May 28, 2008, 560 out of 564 assembly members who cast their votes supported the motion to declare Nepal a secular, federal, democratic republic.
But when it comes to the details of this debate and whether to base the division of provinces on ethnicity, different political parties and groups do not see eye to eye.
While the Maoists are fine with the model forwarded by the state restructuring committee, which drew up the 14-province model from 22 maps forwarded by political groups and experts, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) are averse to the idea of having provinces carved out on the basis of ethnicity.
In a published article, NC central working committee member and former finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat says that basing the idea of a federation on ethnic groups carries risks.
He said, 'An ethnic state is contrary to the concept of equality and inclusive polity. History is replete with instances where the predominant community has used ‘push factor’ through various means, including violence vis-a-vis other minorities, to drive away weaker communities to make the region more exclusive and monolithic.'
'The criteria for demarcation should not be confined to ethnicity and should also include geography, language, resource endowment, population concentration and economic viability,' Mahat added.
But the Maoists beg to differ. Maoist leader Devendra Poudel says that though Nepal is a small country, it has a host of ethnic communities whose aspirations can be addressed only by ethnicity-based representation and political units.
The formation of a state restructuring commission in early March to try to break the impasse was a compromise among the three parties, but differences over its jurisdiction persist.
While the Maoists, the largest party in the constituent assembly, want the commission just to have the mandate to fine-tune the model already proposed before, the NC and the CPN-UML, which are the second- and third-largest parties respectively in the assembly, say the commission should have full rights to propose a completely new model.
The constitution has to be promulgated by a two-thirds majority and unless the three parties come to a consensus, the statute-drafting process will continue to linger.
The Maoists have 38.1 percent seats in the constituent assembly, NC has 19.1 percent while the CPN-UML has another 18 percent. The rest of the seats are held by 23 other parties and independents.
Moreover, the debate on federalism does not end with divisions on the model to be adopted. There are also voices demanding that a referendum be held to decide whether or not to go for a federation in the first place.
On Feb. 22, Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, a party loyal to the ousted monarch Gyanendra Shah, enforced a Kathmandu Valley shutdown demanding that republicanism, secularism and federalism be decided through a plebiscite.
Just over a month before the May deadline for a new constitution, it is clear that the constituent assembly’s tenure has to be extended. But even with more time, there is no guarantee that a consensus on contentious issues such as federalism can be reached.
'Federalism will continue to be a very, very contentious issue because the NC and CPN-UML had reluctantly agreed to go for a federation in the very first place,' said Krishna Khanal, a political science professor at Tribhuvan University. 'They haven’t yet accepted the idea deep within their hearts.'
The constitution lays down a provision for an extension of the constituent assembly’s term by six months, but only in the event of a delay in its work due to the declaration of a state of emergency.
© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service