Pokhrel spoke out against the Supreme Court dispute at a press conferenced arranged by Press Chautari Nepal. He emphasized that the judicial proceedings should not be held hostage by the legal practitioners and by those who know law.

The CPN-UML leader opined that people are frustrated due to the stoppage of activities which were initiated by KP Oli administration. These were the activities which were founded for people’s necessity.

Pokhrel, who was the former Chief Minister of Lumbini Province, pointed out that the scrapping of 1,400 road projects spearheaded by Oli’s administration impacted the national economy adversely.

“Although the CPN (UML) is out of the government, it is always with the people and is currently focused on the upcoming general convention,” he stated.

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The endorsed ordinances are the Financial Ordinance, 2021, and the Ordinance on Raising Public Debt. The National Assembly undertook this effort amid protests by lawmakers. The protesting lawmakers arose from the main opposition party, CPN-UML.

UML’s lawmakers obstructed the session the minute the floor opened for discussion. But, despite their obstructions, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Timilsina chugged on with the discussions regarding the ordinances.

Despite the UML’s opposition, Janardhan Sharma, Nepal’s Finance Minister, put forth the ordinances in the parliamentary upper house. After much ado, the ordinances were passed by the majority of lawmakers through voice voting.

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The Supreme Court bench compromised of Judges Ishwar Khatiwada and Nahakul Subedi. They passed the order after a writ was petitioned by Pandey and Bhatta.

The court had earlier sounded the CPN-UML party not to take any action against the lawmakers if they chose to join the CPN (Unified Socialist).

Both the lawmakers wanted to join the CPN (Unified Socialist). Despite their inclination, a fumble on the lawmakers caused this court battle. They had earlier missed the signing of the party registration application. After their faux pas, Election Commission refused to recognize them as members of CPN (Unified Socialist).

The refusal to recognize the political migration would have resulted in the loss of the official positions that the lawmakers held. However, the Supreme Court order has nullified such an instance.

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Sources informed that the Council realized it was time to amend the Political Parties Act, 200. The act facilitates the political splits. However, the percentage parameters were not set when it was drafted.

The Council decided that a split is possible if the exiting party has 20 percent political populace in the parliamentary committee or party’s central committee.

The ordinance makes things easy for Madhav Nepal of CPN-UML and Mahanta Thakur of Samajbadi Party, who are keen to ditch their current parties.

Ex-PM Oli initially pursued this ordinance in 2020. He set forth that amendment that a split would be possible if the exiting member commands 40 percent strength from the central committee or parliamentary party. The then-PM had to withdraw the ordinance back after he received flak for it.

However, the latest ordinance has not gone down well with CPN-UML as it vows to protest if it is implemented. The party’s spokesman, Pradeep Gyawali, said that the incumbent government would be held responsible for the consequences this development brings forth.

“We will protest because this will bring more instability,” Pradeep stated.

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These four ex-MPs, including Bahadur Rayamajhi, Lekh Raj Bhatta, Prabhu Sah, and Gauri Shankar Chaudhary, belong to the CPN (Maoist Center) party.

About three months ago, the Moist party had sacked these lawmakers from their positions in response to their shuffle to the CPN-UML party.

These four lawmakers had joined the CPN-UML party after the Supreme Court’s verdict to scrap the merger between the two parties.

The Apex Court on May 7 canceled the unification between CPN-UML led by KP Oli and CPN (Maoist Center) led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Following the verdict, the two parties were reviewed to their original forms as before they joined hands in 2018.

The two parties had hammered out an electoral alliance to unify the parties after the parliamentary election in 2017.

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Termed as a goodwill visit, this bilateral visit is being considered as a welcoming message for the start of India’s cordial relations with the Communist-led Government of Nepal that is yet to be formed.

As part of the visit, Swaraj called on the President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari and also held discussions with a wide range of high-level Nepali politicians including CPN-UML Chairman K P Sharma Oli, CPN-MC Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Chairman of Nepal’s Federal Socialist Forum Upendra Yadav, among others.

During the discussions, Swaraj assured Indian Government’s full-fledged support to Nepal in its development and also in taking ahead bilateral ties between both the nations.

“Exchange of views on advancing our multi-dimensional relationship took place,” tweeted Raveesh Kumar, Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson.

In a one-one discussion with Dahal, Swaraj said, “We will extend full cooperation to Nepal in attaining political stability and development.”

In response, Dahal reportedly said, “The talks we had were very positive and constructive. We discussed about the situation emerging after the conclusion of the elections and the preparation for formation of new government. Swaraj assured that India will extend full cooperation to Nepal in her efforts towards attaining political stability and development.”

Meanwhile, the Communist Alliance is currently busy in preparing for the formation of new Nepali Government, post which, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also most likely to visit the Himalayan nation (according to CPN-UML).

“Modi telephoned Oli twice and both leaders invited each other for a visit to their countries,” informed CPN-UML Secretary Pradip Gyawali.

Gyawali also informed that the formation of Communist-led new Nepal Government and proposed unification of both the left parties will be completed by March 2018.

India’s Aid to Nepal

In an interesting update that boosts Indo-Nepal ties, India has almost doubled its financial allocation to Nepal for 2018-19 in its annual Union Budget unveiled on February 01, 2018.

Out of Rs 15, 011 crore budget of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Nepal has been allocated a sum of Rs 650 crore for FY 2018-19 more than the previous year’s value of Rs 375 crore.

“The budgetary increase indicates it is likely to cover the earthquake reconstruction fund that was in the pipeline for some time and was discussed with the Nepalese leaders,” former Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae said in a statement.

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While the date of formation of the new government is yet to be announced, the left alliance came up with some announcements on policies to be implemented under the left-led new Nepali Government (yet to be formed)

In a recent announcement, the left alliance informed that the new Nepali Government will maintain Nepal’s diplomatic relations with neighboring nations based on independent foreign policy.

“As per the directions made by the Nepali Constitution, we will develop the relation with friendly nations, especially the neighboring countries, international unions and organizations, on the basis of independent foreign policy,” the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) said in a statement on December 17, 2017.

In response, a resident of Lumbini said, “I expect a policy that will enhance Nepal’s relationship with neighboring countries India and China. Growth of Nepal is not possible without good relation with India due to geopolitical situation. But in the name of enhancing relation, Nepal should not bow to any other countries.”

These statements by the new Nepali government gain significance in view of recent statements by Nepal’s close bilateral partners on the conclusion of Nepal’s legislative elections 2017.

Nepal Is a Good Friend: Japan

Meanwhile, the Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masashi Ogawa said that Nepal is a good friend to Japan and expressed Japan’s willingness to support Nepal’s development.

“Japan is a good friend of Nepal and it has been providing support to Nepal’s efforts for economic, social, cultural and educational development,” said Ogawa in his address at a recently-held event in Kathmandu.

India Important for Nepal

India also congratulated Nepal on successful completion of its most-awaited parliamentary and provincial elections.

A statement by Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson read about India’s keenness to support Nepal in its all-round development. 

India expressed willingness to work with the newly-elected government with regard to taking ahead its close and multi-faceted ties with Nepal in various sectors.

“The Indo-Nepal ties are not just about government-to-government relations, but about people-to-people ties. India will work with any party that comes to power in Kathmandu. Similarly, the Nepal of PM will work with Delhi irrespective of his ideology. India remains a key factor in Nepal’s politics, society and religion and this fact cannot be ignored,” said a Nepal-focused political expert earlier this month.

US Hopes Responsive Governance

Meanwhile, congratulating Nepal on the conclusion of its historic polls, the United States Government hoped that the recent election would set a stage for new responsive governance in Nepal that stands by rule of law, transparency and inclusivity.

“The election of representatives at all levels of government should set the stage for responsive governance based on the principles of transparency, inclusivity, and rule of law,” read a statement by State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert.

In this regard, Nauert expressed the US Government’s willingness towards working with the new Nepali Government.

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While 157 of the total 165 House of Representatives seats were announced so far under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election, the leftist alliance alone garnered a total of 106 seats.

Of this, the Communist Parties of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) won the highest number of 74 seats followed by CPN-Maoist Centre (MC) that won 32 seats, informed the Election Commission on December 11, 2017.

With the left alliance moving towards forming majority in the Nepali Parliament, the Communist Alliance is projecting the erstwhile Prime Minister and the communist party leader Khadga Prasad Oli as its Prime Minister candidate.

Oli won from the Jhapa-5 constituency with more than 28,000 votes against the Nepali Congress candidate Khagendra Adhikari. Oli bagged 57,139 votes in total, the highest number of votes secured by any contestant in this election.

CPN Chairman Pushpa Kumar Dahal, another name in PM’s race, got elected to the Federal Parliament from the Chitwan-3 constituency for his win against the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) candidate Bikram Pandey with 48, 276 votes.

Meanwhile, the current Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba registered victory in the Dadeldhura-1 constituency against Khaga Raj Bhatta of CPN with 28, 044 votes.

Rajendra Mahato from Dhanusa-3 constituency with 30, 742 votes, Upendra Yadav from Saptari-2 constituency with 21,620 votes, Gagan Thapa from Kathmandu-4 constituency with 21, 558 votes were among others who got elected to the Nepali Federal Parliament.

With Communist alliance leading the race, experts feel Oli could be the next Prime Minister of Nepal.

“We can expect Oli to lead a stable government with the Maoists as strong allies. Once there is a political stability, he can implement a development agenda and attract foreign investment,” opines Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional expert.

Meanwhile, in Proportional Representation (PR) category, UML stands leading with 936,442 votes, followed by Nepali Congress (NC) in the second position with 878,824 votes and CPN-MC in the third position with 385,434 votes.

The post Nepal General Elections 2017: Oli Likely To be the Next PM appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The first phase of Nepal general elections 2017 was held in 32 hill and mountain districts of six provinces across the country.

According to the Election Commission (EC) of Nepal, the first phase of parliamentary and provincial elections elections saw a 65 percent voter turnout as per the preliminary estimates and the number is expected to be high post the final analysis.

“The voter turnout percentage can rise, as we have yet to include data from some places,” says the Chief Election Commissioner Yadav.

 “Despite the difficult terrain, climatic conditions and sporadic anti-election activities, the first phase of elections has been conducted in a peaceful, free and fair way. This is a major achievement towards institutionalizing federalism,” EC said in a statement.

“Due to effective security arrangements made by the government, the elections were held peacefully,” said the Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav after the conclusion of voting process on the day.

According to Ila Sharma, a member of the Election Commission, there were some minor issues from a few places.

Even the election observers from the international and national organizations lauded the Nepali Government’s efforts in holding a peaceful electoral process in the first phase.

According to the Nepali Home Ministry, there was an encouraging public participation in the first phase polls.

“I could not just stay back. I want to vote for the candidate who will develop this village and the district – a candidate with wisdom and compassion, a love for the country. Such a candidate can do much when they get to power,” a voter reportedly said.

Meanwhile another woman voter was quoted to have said, “We need roads, water supply, electricity, health care and jobs so our children are not forced to go abroad to work.”

However, the average voter participation in this election was termed lower compared to the Constituent Assembly elections in 2013 and local elections in 2017, which saw 78.74 percent and 74.16 percent turn-outs, respectively.

The first phase of elections was held for 74 provincial assembly and 37 federal parliamentary seats under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system, while the elections for the remaining parliamentary seats were slated to be held across 45 districts on December 7, 2017.

NHRC Concerned Over Deprived Voters

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in its release, raised serious concern that some of the voters were deprived of voting rights because of the long distances they stay at from the poll center.

In this regard, NHRC urged the government to ensure that such situations are addressed and all the voters get a chance of voting.

According to NHRC, voters did not turn up at some places because of the lack of voter education and relevant information.

A Game-changing Election

The result of this general election is expected to be a game-changer for Nepal as the Nepali citizens are foreseeing the new constitution and efficient governance through this election by putting an end to the long-standing social turmoil in the country.

This election is also expected to bring a major transformation in the Nepali political landscape as evident in the broader alliance formed by the two major communist parties of the country.

After 2008, it was in 2013 that Nepal saw its last election for a constituent assembly that eventually doubled up into a parliament.

The post Nepal General Elections 2017: First Phase Polls Conclude with 65% Voter Turnout appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The elections, slated to be held on November 26 and December 7, 2017, has three major political forces Nepali Congress, Communist Alliance of CPN-UML and CPN-MC and Madhes-based parties in the race.

Wooing voters for the promising elections, all the three parties have already announced their political manifestos for the parliamentary and provincial assembly elections 2017.

Nepali Congress

The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) was the first to announce political manifesto for the country’s legislative elections 2017.

NC released its manifesto on October 31, 2017 amidst the presence of the party president and the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, among other senior leaders.

With major focus on social welfare, economic development and security, NC promised an integrated Social Security Program to ensure universal health insurance coverage, 100 percent high school enrolment for children, contribution-based pension schemes for formal and informal sector personnel, and unemployment allowances.

Besides, the party also pledged reforms in the industrial, agriculture tourism and infrastructure sectors, while highlighting enhancement of bilateral ties with the bordering India and China as part of the country’s foreign policy.

“The Congress party had been leading the struggle against totalitarian regimes since 1950. This time the party wanted to lead the nation towards prosperity,” said Deuba on the occasion.

Left Alliance

In a major political shift in Nepali politics, major communist parties CPN-UML and CPN-MC formed a grand leftist alliance for the upcoming general elections.

Pitching on the need for leftist rule in the country, the communist alliance announced their manifesto for the upcoming elections on November 07, 2017 with poverty alleviation, employment, clean environment and long-term development of the country as their agendas on top priority.

The left alliance pledged on increasing Nepal’s per capita income to USD 5000 within 10 years of forming the government and said their government will have Tarai, Madhes, Hills and Himalayan communities on board.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)

RPP, called as the royalist political party of Nepal, pitched for consistent focus on Hindu nation status of Nepal, strong local governments, economic liberalism and democracy with constitutional monarchy, in its manifesto for upcoming elections.

As a whole, the manifesto called for socio, political and economic transformation of Nepal within the purview of constitutional and democratic processes, along with reforms in other major areas.

Madhes-based Parties

The Madhes-based parties, Rastriya Janata Party Nepal and Federal Socialist Forum Nepal, announced constitutional amendment as the key agenda of their joint political manifesto for upcoming polls.

The two parties forged alliance in the Province 2 for the provincial and parliamentary elections and have formed a common manifesto.

The parties pitched on the need for developmental programs in line with the agriculture, tourism and water sources.

The post Nepal General Elections 2017: Reforms, Poverty Alleviation and Constitutional Amendments High on Political Manifestos appeared first on Nepali Sansar.