Confusion in Nepali Congress over polls, particularly local elections
KATHMANDU: JAN. 23 – As the debate is raging over when to hold the elections, especially after Maoist chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal suddenly proposed federal elections in April-May by delaying local polls, the Nepali Congress appears to be in a state of confusion.
Leaders from the establishment faction led by the party president and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the opponent faction in the party, led by Shekhar Koirala, have different views.
While Deuba is not against delaying local polls, for which the Election Commission has proposed April-May dates, the opposition faction in the party doesn’t seem to be comfortable.
Gagan Thapa, the party general secretary has already made it clear that the local elections must be held so as not to create a vacuum at the local level.
The Election Commission has proposed local level elections for April 27 and May 5.
Constitutional and legal experts, as well as incumbent and former Election Commission officials, say local elections must be held by April-May. But Dahal, the chair of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has thrown everyone into a tizzy by proposing the federal elections before the local elections.
The ruling alliance said on Friday that it would consult legal and constitutional experts on elections, as some are even suggesting if all three tiers of election can be held simultaneously.
“Consultations and discussions are taking place at different levels,” said Congress vice president Purna Bahadur Khadka, who is considered to be close to Deuba. “But a concrete decision will come only after the National Assembly elections.”
The upper house polls to elect 19 members are scheduled for January 26 and the ruling alliance comprising the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), the CPN (Unified Socialist), JSP and Rastriya Janamorcha are fighting jointly.
Since the Maoist Centre and the CPN (Unified Socialist) do not seem to be willing to face elections almost immediately, they have been pushing for delaying local polls. But a decision will depend on the Nepali Congress, the key ruling party.
Multiple Congress leaders the Post spoke to said that there is no uniformity inside the party over when to hold the local polls and two other elections—federal and provincial. Some of them also said that leaders in Kathmandu cannot dictate when provincial elections should be held.
Some ruling party leaders, however, say if confusion persists over whether to hold federal elections before the local elections, the coalition partners may push for all levels of election in September-October or February-March 2023.
The country needs to hold local, state and parliamentary elections by the end of this year. Nepal held local elections in 2017 in three phases—on May 14, June 28 and September 18. Parliamentary and provincial elections were held on November 26 and December 7, 2017.
According to Congress insiders, Deuba lately has been consulting Ram Chandra Poudel, Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Purna Bahadur Khadka as well as Maoist chair Dahal and CPN (Unified Socialist) chair Madhav Nepal.
“We don’t know much at this time; there is confusion all around,” said a Congress office-bearer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Koirala, who leads the opposition faction in the Congress, said there has been no debate and discussion within the party on elections and their dates.
“There should be a uniform position of the party regarding such an important issue,” Koirala, who lost the party president election during the recently held Congress general convention, told the Post.
On Friday, the meeting of the ruling alliance under the aegis of high-level political coordination committee headed by Congress leader Poudel decided to consult constitutional and legal experts on holding the three tiers of an election after confusion over when to hold local elections.
The meeting also decided to explore all possibilities to hold the three elections together if possible in April-May or later in September-October.
Ruling party leaders said a meeting of the top leaders with constitutional and legal experts has been scheduled for Sunday.
“Our position on holding local elections is clear,” said Koirala. “It should be held on time. After conducting the local elections, there should be federal and provincial elections. It’s as simple as that.”
Some Nepali Congress leaders close to Deuba, however, said that it is good for the party if federal elections are conducted before the local polls.
“We recently concluded the party’s general convention. We saw factionalism,” said a Congress leader. “This factional feud may reflect on the local polls if they are held in the near future and a loss could bode ill for the party.”
Even within the Deuba camp, all are not convinced about disturbing the election calendar as proposed by Dahal. Some leaders close to Deuba said that local elections must be held in April-May as proposed by the Election Commission.
“Local-level elections must be held on time at any cost,” said Ramesh Lekhak, a Central Working Committee member. “When I met the prime minister about a week ago, he was in favour of holding elections of local bodies on scheduled dates. If he has changed his mind lately, then I can’t say anything.”
According to Lekhak, the country must hold local polls in April-May so as not to create a vacuum at the local level.
“Holding all three levels of election together is not a good idea. If our party favours this idea, it would be wrong,” said Lekhak. “Local elections and other two elections must be held on different dates. Yes, federal and provincial elections can be held simultaneously. That’s acceptable.”
-Kathmandu Post
