NEPALI POLITICS

  Ms. Bidya Bhandari, the former President's return to active politics comes amid growing speculation about her future role within the CPN-UML. Over the past few months, she has been holding interactions with party leaders and cadres across the country, fueling rumours that she may be eyeing a larger role in party leadership. Political experts opine that Bhandari's decision to rejoin CPN-UML might pose a threat to Oli, who is enjoying "a kind of monopoly" in the ruling party. Ms. Bhandari’s re-entry into party politics has sparked debate in Nepal’s political circles. During the press conference on Friday she said her party membership with the CPN-UML had already been renewed and there was no reason to drag it into controversy. She further claimed that her return to politics after completing her presidential term was a constitutional right and should not be viewed as inappropriate. She accused the UML leadership of trying to undermine her political rights...

Experts and political leaders emphasize the need for reforms in the electoral system and practices to strengthen our democracy which may need major changes in the existing electoral system and enhanced structural and policy reforms to empower election commission. The incumbent coalition government composed of Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) had committed to bring about reforms in the existing electoral system when it assumed the rein of the government almost six months ago. The NC and UML senior leaders held the views that recurring political instability and uncertainty in the country has been engendered due to the mixed electoral system in which proportional representation takes sizable share in the composition of the federal and provincial parliament. As a result, no single party can afford to muster majority seats in the parliament. This puts the smaller or medium-sized parties into the vital role to bargain into making or unmaking of the government. However, two big parties’ ruli...

Instability is the norm in our national politics. The multiparty democratic system revolves around power-hungry politicians, short-lived, unnatural alliances and high-profile corruption cases. Following the 2022 elections, Nepali Congress, with 89 seats, and the Communist Party of Nepal–Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN–UML), with 78 seats, are the first and the second largest parties respectively in the 275-seat House of Representatives. Any amendments to the constitution, as envisaged by this coalition, are easier said than done. This coalition is just a cover to secure the dominant position of the big parties. Any efforts to reconfigure the federal structure or electoral system, despite its problems, will face huge resistance. In terms of inclusion and more autonomy for federal provinces, the big parties are always reluctant to decentralise power. The major cause of instability is the deterioration of morality in politics. Democracy, with all its imperfections, is the best s...