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A complex struggle for power sharing in Nepal

Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has summoned the first session of the Constituent Assembly for May 28 but the political scene is far from clear and may actually get complicated in the next few days.

Parties have failed to make any headway in reaching a power-sharing deal in a coalition. Protracted behind-the-scenes negotiations have given way to frustration among the top leaders that is apparent in the increasingly testy language being used all around.

The Maoists’ second-in-command, Babu Ram Bhattarai, has publicly asked King Gyanendra to abdicate the throne and called on Mr. Koirala to vacate Singhadurbar, the Prime Minister’s office. “Some elements, defeated in the election, are showing their greed for power,” he said, addressing a programme in Pokhara last week. He also suggested that Mr. Koirala submit his resignation to the interim Speaker, Subas Nembang, and facilitate handover of power to a Maoist-led coalition. The anger of the Maoists, who surprised Nepal’s political elite by winning the largest number of seats in last month’s Constituent Assembly elections, is more visible in private conversations. “We will drag Koirala out of power, if necessary,” said a senior Maoist leader.

But the Nepali Congress vice-president and Minister for Peace and Reconciliation, Ram Chandra Poudel, hit back at the victors. “The Maoists are trying to humiliate Girijababu and honour Kamal Thapa,” he said, in a reference to Mr. Bhattarai’s remarks and Maoist Chairman Prachanda’s meeting with Mr. Thapa, a former royalist minister, a few weeks ago, to propose an exit strategy for King Gyanendra.

Mr. Poudel said the Maoists, as the largest party, should have taken the initiative to bring all political forces together to build consensus. “Instead, they are displaying arrogance and expect us to agree to anything they demand.” He alleged that Maoist “authoritarianism” was on the rise.

The Maoists, on the other hand, are angry about the growing anti-Maoist sentiment in the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) — the second and third largest parties in the CA.

An overwhelming majority of leaders spoke against joining a Maoist-led government at the central committee meetings of the NC and the UML, which concluded last week. Out of the 61 central committee members in the NC, all but one leader spoke against joining a Maoist government. Likewise, in the UML, only five of the 68 central committee members said their party should join the government.

“Our main goal is drafting the new constitution and taking the peace process to a logical end, not joining the government,” said UML acting general secretary Amrit Bohara.

The NC and the UML have even set conditions for supporting the Maoist-government. They want an amendment in the interim constitution to allow removal of the Prime Minister by a simple majority as against the current two-thirds majority; dissolution of the Maoist People’s courts, army and local governments; management of the weapons of Maoist combatants in the cantonments; return of property seized by the Maoists; and changing the militant structure of the Maoist youth wing, Young Communist League, into a volunteer political organisation. The Maoists have said they cannot meet these conditions overnight.

Beside these, there are big questions on power sharing. The UML has officially passed a resolution calling for sharing of the three posts — Prime Minister, President and Chair of the Constituent Assembly — among the major parties. Mr. Prachanda says such an arrangement would create “parallel centres” and destabilise the transition.

Since the Madhesi parties — Madhesi People’s Right Forum and the Tarai Madhes Democratic Party — have also thrown their weight behind the proposal for a separate President and Prime Minister, the Maoists find themselves increasingly cornered on the issue.

As the parties find it hard to strike a deal before the crucial May 28 CA meeting, which is officially supposed to abolish the monarchy, King Gyanendra is deriving some last-minute solace.

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