Elections In April 2013 A Must

In Nepal, the quest for April elections

The Baburam Bhattarai government is a caretaker government. It must be replaced by a duly elected government at the earliest. And April 2013 is the best time. It is not a good idea to let a caretaker government stay in power for too long.

The old constituent assembly is dead and gone. A parliament not allowed to last for more than four years is not a bad move, and so I do not wish to drag the Supreme Court into controversy, especially when this particular parliament only had a two year life. That was ample time. The politicians of Nepal registered a collective failure.

Reviving that old assembly was never an option.

The president has no constitutional option to sack the Baburam Bhattarai government. But the political parties have the political option to come to a consensus on a replacement. But that consensus has been a nightmare. The very attempt has been foolish. Consensus is a Panchayati concept. It smells of no party rule.

Bi-polarization is a good thing.

The president is 100% responsible for the current gridlock. Once Baburam became a caretaker Prime Minister he did bring an election timetable. It was the president who unwisely refused to pass the election related ordinances. That was wrong. If those election related ordinances are now not passed by the president's office by the end of December that will mean elections will not be held in April 2013. Then we will be staring at November 2013 or, more likely, April 2014. The NC and the UML will have kept Baburam in the Prime Minister's Chair for a year longer than necessary.

Baburam's best option right now is to expand the cabinet to bring in the breakaway Maoists, the Upendra Yadav led front, Ashok Rai, Kumar Rai and others to form a broader alliance for federalism. As a Prime Minister he can reshuffle his cabinet, he can expand his cabinet, of course he can. That is what being the executive head of the country means. A caretaker Prime Minister is still Prime Minister.

The Asteroids Are Key To Unlocking The Gridlock
The Anti Federal Alliance (AFA)
Consensus Is Not Happening
Baburam's Options
Broadening The Ruling Alliance

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What Might The President Do?

English: Mr. Baburam bhattarai the 35th Prime Minister of Nepal. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think he is gearing up to take over. That might not be bad news. In India they call it president's rule when the Governor of a state takes over. Something like that is about to happen in Nepal. The president will take over and lead a cabinet of non political people to conduct elections to a new assembly in April 2013. That is a decent roadmap.

The less controversial step would be the deadline passes and the president says the current caretaker government is now the election government. That will allow him to pass election related ordinances.

Both are good options. Direct rule by the president until April will not be dictatorial.

The deadline will come and go. And the president will step in.

Nepal President wants consensus Premier in a week

The president has given parties a deadline of November 29, 4 pm, to come up with consensus. ...... Soon after the term of the CA ended on May 27, the president had ‘relieved’ the PM of his ‘post’, on the grounds that he was no longer a member of the legislature-parliament. But the president had asked the PM to continue performing his duties till another government was constituted. ..... this was like the October 4, 2002 move of King Gyanendra when he dismissed an elected PM for failing to hold elections. “The interim constitution does not give the president any such right. He has to act on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, which has the responsibility of finding consensus.”

Prez gives 7-day deadline for parties to find consensus PM

President Yadav had reduced Prime Minister Bhattarai, who announced fresh CA election for November 22, to a caretaker after the CA was dissolved on May 27 as per the Supreme Court verdict. The president´s move comes at a time when the opposition parties have been demanding that the president set a deadline for the parties to form a national consensus government as per the Article 38 (1). ..... the president will have to either pick an independent leader as head of a neutral election government or end the process without any result and let the present government continue ...... it will turn out to a blessing in disguise for Baburam Bhattarai.

EC demands amendment of constitution, laws for election

According to the EC, officials met President Yadav at Seetal Niwas in the evening and Prime Minister Bhattarai in the morning at his office at Singhadurbar and also requested them to fix the exact date for the voting.

The road ahead
Road to prosperity

The acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson, backed by extensive narrative of the last 600 years, writes in his brilliant book Civilization: West and the Rest, that the Western countries, prior to the threshold year 1500, were much behind the civilization of the East. Since then, particularly after renaissance and reformation, the Western civilization developed values based on individual freedom, private property, and rule of law and free trade, which led to its ascendancy over much superior regimes of the East.

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The PM Resigning Would Be Weird

English: Leader of CPN U Maoist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The current government is already a caretaker government. If it resigns the president will have no option but to request it to continue until another government is formed.

A caretaker government that was an elected government is succeeded by another elected government. There will not be another elected government in the country until elections are held.

The only way for a Nepali Congress person to become PM is after the elections are held and the NC emerges to lead a coalition that garners a majority.

For Baburam Bhattarai to resign and for the Maoists to agree to a NC person leading the government now would be tantamount to surrendering. The issue is not as to who will lead the government now. The issue is if Nepal will get meaningful federalism. For Baburam to resign is for the federalist forces to give up the power to shape the debate.

The NC and the UML leaders had less than one third the power in the constituent assembly and they still managed to scuttle Nepal's move to federalism. For Baburam to now resign is to say that was okay. That was not okay.

The federalist forces have to keep the power and as long as they are willing to bring the NC and the UML into the cabinet - which they are - the president will have to pass the election related ordinances just like he was forced to pass the budget ordinance.

And if the NC and the UML choose to boycott the election the federalist forces will have an even easier time garnering the two thirds majority they need.

PM resigned but retracted
Good Move By Ram Baran
NC And UML At Fault
Ram Baran Yadav: Kasturi Mriga
The President, The Prime Minister
NC And UML Do Not Have Veto Power
Dahal's Capitulation Is Wrong

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