Janata Dal Constitution

(This is a proposed constitution for a proposed new political party for Nepal that is envisioned to operate withing the broad democratic parameters described here: Proposed Constitution, Reorganized UN, Methods.)

Preamble

The underlying concept is of a total, transparent democracy.

Article 1: Membership

1. Any voter in Nepal can become a voting member of the party. Dues are Rs. 5 every four months or Rs. 12 a year if paid at once. A member must also have attended at least one party meeting authorized by the wada chairperson or above every four months. Such meetings must have been announced at least a month in advance, or longer. Such are voting members.
   
2. All such members elect the 5 members of their wada committee. Beyond that it is indirect elections. Any member from the wada may be a contestant. A list is to be prepared of the aspiring contestants in alphabetical order. The top five vote getters get in. There must be at least five contestants. If there are no more slots than contestants, no elections are held.
   
3. One of the five is the wada chair, elected at the same time.
   
4. All members of wada committees and above are known as Active Members of the party. All active members of the party vote to decide on the party's candidate for parliamentary elections.
5. There are to be secret ballot elections. Before the ballot is printed, all aspiring names must get together to meet in person for at least one hour to get to know each other and exchange views and attempt a possible consensus list.
   
6. No member may be expelled from the party except through a 60% vote by the committee he or she might be part of. All such decisions may be taken to the Appeals Committee directly above or at the same level - at the district, state, and central levels - by the expelled member for the final, binding decision.
   

Article 2: Party Structure

1. There will be a party committee to reflect each level of the state apparatus, 5 for the wada level, 7 for the village level, 9 for the town level, 11 for the city level, 17 for the district level, 21 for the state level, and 31 for the central level.
   
2. If a member of a committee get elected to one at a higher level, that person loses membership of the earlier committee. The vacant seat goes to the next person down the list when elections were held.
   
3. Elections at any one level must be completed nationwide before the one at the next level may be held except when it might not impact that next level elections.
   
4. All wada committee members are voting members and possible contestants of the village/town/city committees. All village/town/city committee members are voting members and possible contestants of the district committees.
   
5. All parliamentary seat candidates in the last held elections in a state are voting members and possible contestants for the state committee.
   
6. All parliamentary seat candidates in the last held elections at the national level are voting members and possible contestants for the central committee.
7. The committees expire every four years. It is for the Election Commission to decide precisely when. But the period may not be less than three years.
   
8. Only the party's Election Commission may spend any money on the elections inside the party. Candidates are barred from doing so. The commission will educate all voters on the candidates' bio and political platforms, authored by the candidates themselves, giving roughly equal space to each. The commission may design additional elements to the campaigns.
   

Article 3: Party President

1. Elections for the party presidency are to be held by the national Election Commission. Until that happens, the party Election Commission fulfills that role.
   
2. Members of the three state committees, and all popularly elected officials at the state and national levels vote for party president. When there might be an overlap, one person may not be counted as two votes. Only a voter may be a contestant. If there be more than two candidates, a second round of voting should take place between the two finalists. This is also true for distributing party tickets for inter-party elections that invite direct voter participation.
   
3. The election is to be held at the party convention where the candidates offer their visions for the party and the country. More than potential voters may be invited to such a convention.
   

Article 4: Party Flag And Election Symbol

1. The flag is to be a sky blue rectangle representing peace, and a golden sun in the middle to represent prosperity.
   
2. The party's election symbol is to be the pole star that symbolizes the party's relentless aspiration to provide the best possible vision for the country's future.
   

Article 5: Party Candidates For Inter-Party Elections

1. As to who the party candidate will be is to be decided by the active members at the said level through secret ballot elections held early enough to allow time for the larger election campaigns, unless specifically stated otherwise. A candidate has to be someone in the voting pool, or someone sponsored by at least three members in the voting pool.
   

Article 6: Election Commission, Appeals Committee

1. The central committee will elect a 7-member Election Commission from among its members. The commission may use the party structure at all levels to do its work. There must be at least a one degree of vertical separation for a party member to aid an internal party election in a leadership capacity.
   
2. The district, state and central committees are to elect a 3, 5 and 7 member Appeals Committees each.
   

Article 7: Membership Dues

1. Membership dues are to be collected by the wada committees and are to be passed on to the village/town/city committees. Each committee keeps one third to the nearest rupee and passes the rest to the committee directly above.
   
2. All book-keeping is to be transparent. Expenses to the last paisa are to be posted online on at least an annual basis.
   

Alliance Gathering At Queens Bridge Park

The Alliance For Democracy And Human Rights In Nepal organized a gathering from 11 AM to 7 PM. Other organizations were also represented. Two that come to mind are the Nepal Democratic Youth Council and the Nepal Students Union, the North America chapter. There were relentless political discussions, but the gathering did not have an overtly political feel. To families it must have felt like a grand family gathering. There were a lot of children fooling around. Numerous teams competed at the volleyball court. So it was also a tournament. A dohori and a poetry recital were also held. Prizes were awarded.

But for me it was primarily political, also a little social. (GDF, To: ADHRN, ADHRN, $100,000) I went to meet local Nepalis in person. And I went to forge political alliances for the project I have in mind to work to provide maximal logistical support to the movement for democracy in Nepal.

Curiously I was pinpointed individuals at the gathering from a distance who might have presonal contacts within the regime in Kathmandu. I did not make any immediate move though I wanted to. There were lots of non-political people I did not get to meet due to time constraints. And all I did was meet, meet, meet people. But I am open to establishing channels of communication as might become available. My personal goal is not to rub noses in the dust. I seek the most peaceful, efficient way to bring democracy to Nepal, and I am all for dialogue, especially with opponents.

And I mean that from a position of strength. I keep my options open. If the regime takes to acting repressive towards peaceful demonstrators and retaliatory towards democratic activists, there will arise a need for a Truth And Reconciliation Commission once the democrats come into power. The commisssion would investigate and punish all the culprits that might have thus participated. Or elements of the regime can behave, and we can all end up getting along just fine.

I am neutral on the monarchy question, personally. But I have personal friends and allies who are staunchly, uncompromisingly republican, and they have every right to be so, and if they are targeted for that, then I see it a democratic imperative to do all I can to protect them. Ultimately it is for the Nepali people to decide for themselves if they want a ceremonial monarchy or not. I really don't spend a lot of time thinking about the monarchy. My time is for democracy. The concept is very much work in progress. And my next bit of focus is to do with the logistics of the movement.

Although I must say I feel the ground shifting from beneath the king's feet. Attitudes are morphing. He is the chief executive and is directly responsible for all the excesses of the current regime. There is no escaping responsibility.

The public actions of the regime leave room only for confrontation. Grounds for a massive, peaceful movement have to be laid.

I met Somnath Ghimire. He is the Vice President of ADHRN. More important to me, he is a personal friend of Gagan Thapa. I mean, I am a Gagan Thapa fan. Ghimire is impressive in his own right, and we had a lot to talk about.

I noticed I was the only Madhesi at the gathering. Lone wolf.

107 Photos

She was asked to reach into the bag and pick the winner for the second prize. Her mother ended up the winner. So another lady dragged along a random child to do the picking for the first prize. That "drag" lady won the first prize. That was a minor miracle. What do you think?

In The News

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• India concerned about Nepal's political situation Radio Australia
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• A regional gathering stresses on the need to deepen efforts to ... PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal India aims to become self-sufficient in electricity by 2012 and build in a 5 percent reserve margin. “All in all, another 100 GW of electricity generation is needed for that. In total, the price tag is put at $205 billion to 2012” ....
  
• HM King to address the UN next month PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal will be arriving in the US on September 12 ..... Nepal has urged for resumption of arms from India in exchange for its support to the latter’s bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC).... “While putting pressure on Kathmandu to restore democracy, (India) also realizes that in its UNSC mission, every vote counts. Now it will have to weigh its options”
• Sharpen The Ideological Struggle People's Democracy
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• Ex-army staff pledge to work for nation, monarch Gorkhapatra, Nepal Former army personnel who had retired after long military service have pledged to utilise the remaining period of their life in the service of the nation and the Monarch if their need is felt.
• Former student leaders demand UML’s special session Kantipur Online, Nepal demanded a special session of the party for restructuring the party organization and leadership..... More than 200 former student leaders who had worked at the central level of the student body since 1979 assembled at Pulchowk in Lalitpur yesterday to form a council of the former students and also criticized the mistakes committed by the political parties in the past....Shankar Pokharel, former president of the ANNFSU and current central member of the UML, said the meeting of the former student leaders was called to discuss all the past weaknesses of the party and chart out a future agenda for the party.
• NC-D general convention in January Kantipur The decision to convene the convention was taken in consultation with senior party leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prakash Man Singh who are in jail.... in Kathmandu.....The party also sacked its central advisory council member Sri Prasad GT for supporting present government and accepting its nomination in District Development Committee.
• NC urged to initiate ideological change on Monarchy Kantipur Intellectuals and professionals Saturday urged the Nepali Congress (NC) party to revise its principles and remove "constitutional monarchy" from its statute claiming that monarchy and democracy can no longer go together. ....If the NC fails in this direction, said the intellectuals, it will vanish from the country's political landscape...... said Professor Dr Lok Raj Baral..... Professors Krishna Khanal, Krishna Hachhethu and Navin Prakash Jung Shah..."Even if the party does not like to opt for republic immediately, the term monarchy should be removed from the statute and the fate of monarchy should be left at the hands of future movements"
  
• ‘Single poll can end turmoil’ Kathmandu Post, Nepal One of the drafters of the present constitution argued Saturday that the present political turmoil can be ended through a single poll that would elect parliament and constituent assembly at once..... We can activate Article 3 of the constitution to hold elections.... Aryal said Article 127 of the constitution has been used to dismantle the constitution whereas it was provided for its protection......Former army chief Satchit Shumsher Rana said the insurgency could not be resolved militarily. President of the Forum, Himalaya Shumsher Rana said hopes have emerged with the new chief justice promising to look into the case of House reinstatement.
• ‘Docs’ role crucial for democracy’ Kathmandu Post, Nepal Dr Mathura Prasad Shrestha on Saturday said that doctors in Nepal were not playing the role they had played in the 1990's movement ...... Human rights defender Krishna Pahadi said virtually all nations, with the exception of a few underdeveloped countries, are capable of making Atom bombs.
  
• Journos rally against threat to Nepal FM Kathmandu Post, Nepal
• 'No links with Indian Maoists' claims Bhattarai Himalayan Times, Nepal The Maoists in Nepal have no “direct physical” or “military links” with the Naxalites in India nor are they anti-India in any way, claims Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai ..... He also dismissed media reports that his party was linked with the LTTE. “We never had, don’t have and don’t want any contact with them.
• Govt to Appoint Mayors, Dy Mayors Himalayan Times, Nepal “working” to appoint mayors and deputy mayors in 58 municipalities who will be reuired to fulfil the responsibility to conducting elections to those municipalities...The appointees could possibly be picked from independent politicians, former Panchas and people supporting political parties and who are ‘interested’ in taking posts but having ‘grudges’ in their party-folds.” Such parties include the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP), and even some from the seven-party alliance. The government is also planning to appoint nine Ilaka members in each district to work as members of the DDCs..... there was understandable ‘stampede’ among the local leaders of the RPP for the plum posts.
  
• Journos Want FM News Ban Lifted Himalayan Times, Nepal
• Indians capture Nepali land PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal
• The Nepal Crisis: Interview with National Council of Churches in ... ChristianToday, UK has never faced any crisis as it is facing today..... In 1990, there was a people’s uprising and the king was persuaded to introduce a multi-party system of government. It had the semblance of democracy but was far from it. Religious freedom was absent and basic individual freedom and rights were limited...... this action was totally unconstitutional, as the Constitution of Nepal has no such provision that enables the king to assume such authority or appoint anybody as “vice-chairman.”..... Human Rights Watch once said that there is zero human rights in Nepal....... Maoist rebels continue to torture civilians suspecting them of being government spies amd agents. Forcible conscription of children into the army as soldiers and bombing raids conducted in civilian areas suspected to be militant hideouts have struck fear in the heart of the Nepalis....... The situation is very much within the control as all the actors are acting within certain limitations. This is not an instance of terrorism…the events taking place are not terrorist activities but all are operating within the political sphere. So I am very hopeful of a peaceful solution of the problem. The problem can be solved and should be solved through dialogues and peaceful negotiations. The Maoists are ready and willing to do that and they have put forth their agenda and their demands very clearly....... The US, UK, and India are also involved in providing military aid to the government of Nepal. This is making dialogues and peaceful resolutions difficult. ..... Intervention of the international community should be limited but productive and constructive.
  
• Poets, singers, teachers rally for Nepal democracy RedNova.com, TX
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• King Of Nepal: An Enemy Of Democracy News From Bangladesh by Somnath Ghimire King Gyanendra’s father, King Mahendra, did the same thing in 1960. He had dismissed parliament, imprisoned the parliamentary leaders and imposed the fascistic Panchayat system, in which the people had no political rights. Parties were banned and replaced by royalist councils. King Mahendra organized handfuls of people who were instructed to chant slogans in favor of his coup. He divided the political parties........ King Gyanendra Shah is entirely isolated from the masses of people; he has the title now as a “CITY MAYOR”....... let all democrats build up consensus for struggle under the slogan of fighting for a “Multiparty New Democratic People’s Republic of Nepal”........ Their political fortunes in the Nepalese political arena are dwindling and they have bet their personal survival on the kindness of King Gyanendra Shah ........ The feudal monarchy of Nepal – confined to military barracks, isolated from the masses and hated by the Nepalese people and people all over the world – is as rotten at its foundations as a rotten tooth......... The monarchy is the root of all problems of Nepal and the root cause of the Nepali people’s suffering and misery......... Many Nepalis say this tall, severe man in his daura-suruwal tight pants and knee-length shirt is the reason their country is in crisis...... This monarchy has become a burden on the nation ...... His image has eroded, his credibility is down. ...... His standing is steadily falling ..... Many doubt elections can ever be held until the Maoists are brought back to the negotiating table, something most say rests in the king's hands........ people close to the palace say considered his brother weak, now effectively has full control of the government and the country until an election can be held and a new government formed, but when? ....... Gyanendra is not obeying the Constitution of 1990, so why do we need to call him as a “CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCH”? Let us decide that what we all want to call him.......
• Twelve Years Of Democratic Achievements And Failures by Somnath Ghimire For Nepal to become a stable democracy, it is imperative that our leaders should embark on democratization....... As the NC leader Girija babu dissolved the parliament, the evil days and black cloud started again in Nepal........ Why our leaders have to be involved in corruptions while our hard earned baby democracy was just fostering? ...... Transparency is a hallmark of democracy. ........ Some will argue that democracy and king are incompatible, that the Nepal's quest for freedom is a fool's errand. Non-sense...... Members of Raj Parishad are "Panchas" and "Mandaless" ...... The question of whether King Gyanendra is compatible with democracy is as relevant as whether the monarchy in the UK is compatible with democracy. ...... In the past twelve years, Politics have become Khaane Bhando for Neta (leaders) and limited circle of karyakarta (followers). ...... Why Nepali Congress though elected 2 times with mandate to form government failed to rule for five years? ...... Our palace has a strong influence in politics even when there is democracy in the country. ...... There is Imperial household agency in Japan under the prime minister. We don't need a separate Raj Parishad and many other institutions. Royal palace must be democratic and transparent ....... RPP has shown its true color. So, is the party of Badri Pd Mandal. ....... Democracy can be restored and even king may be bound to leave. It is easier to uproot democratic government with democratic means than with undemocratic means....... Even in China, it took 50 years still there is a long way to go. There are even so many poor farmers and no too many people who are very rich. Per capita income is still so low. ....... people watching the events rather than participating. ..... people tasted the freedom of expression and freedom of speech. However, we never got good governance......