Nepal’s leaders held urgent talks Sunday to avoid a political crisis, with just hours remaining before a midnight deadline to agree a new post-war constitution or face the dissolution of parliament.
The Constituent Assembly was elected in 2008 after a decade of civil war to write a new national constitution and oversee the peace process that began when the conflict ended in 2006.
But the process has been deadlocked by demands for the country to be divided into states along ethnic lines and, after several deadline extensions, the 601-member assembly faces being disbanded to make way for fresh elections. “If you go by the talks so far, the Constituent Assembly is headed for dissolution,” said Arjun Narsingh K.C., leader of the Nepali Congress, one of the nation’s four main parties.
“We are not for the dissolution because this is the only elected body in Nepal.”
Thousands of people from various ethnic and political groups gathered near the assembly, waving flags and chanting slogans as security forces prevented the crowd from getting too close. The police and army were on alert nationwide and ready to prevent any outbreak of violence, the Rajdhani daily newspaper said. The new constitution is intended to create a new secular, democratic republic following the abolition of Nepal’s centuries-old Hindu monarchy after the Maoist rebels gave up arms and won the 2008 elections. It is also meant to bring stability to the impoverished Himalayan nation and unite its more than 100 ethnic minorities in a country traumatised by the death of 16,000 people in the civil war.
But while the Maoists, who dominate the assembly, want the creation of up to 14 states named after ethnic groups, their rivals say dividing Nepal along ethnic lines will fuel unrest. Despite four extensions of the assembly’s mandate, it has been unable to complete the far-reaching document, and the Supreme Court has ruled that any further extensions would be illegal.
Analysts predict three possible outcomes of Sunday’s talks, with the most likely being no agreement and the dissolution of parliament. The other scenarios are agreement on a new constitution, or a compromise which passes a constitution with the contentious issues left out to be settled after the deadline. It is unclear what would happen if there is no agreement.
Constituent Assembly chairman Subas Nembang has warned of a “political void”, with a caretaker government and president having no mandate, and no chamber in place to pass laws and rubber-stamp decisions.
A group of leading public figures headed by Ratna Sansar Shrestha, a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal, released a statement urging the government not to rush a decision on new federal states.
“Even in the final moments of the assembly’s tenure, the voices of many marginalised and minority communities remain unheard,” it said.
The widespread hope in Nepal that followed the end of the civil war and the abolition of the unpopular monarchy has been replaced by a growing sense of anger and frustration. Political instability has stifled economic growth, forcing many people to seek work overseas, and thousands of Nepalese have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest at the lack of progress in their country. “No nation has drafted a constitution without turbulence. As we draw closer to writing the constitution, the atmosphere is getting charged,” political analyst Anand Jha wrote in the Republica English language daily.
