Several political parties, particularly the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, the two bigger ones, have indicated that they will boycott the municipal elections promised by the monarch within this Nepali calendar year. There seems to be a general agreement, however, that the government can hold the polls for the 58 municipalities from the security standpoint. But deep distrust exists between the King and the political parties. The latter want the palace to take confidence building measures first, e. g. to end the emergency, restore fundamental rights and press freedom, and release all political leaders. Indeed, these are reasonable demands. But equally true is that elections are the essence of democracy. Though the municipal polls represent only a small part of the total electoral exercise available in the country, with its about 4,000 village committees, 75 district committees and 205 parliamentary constituencies, it will nonetheless be a positive step in reactivating the truncated democratic process.

To make the step meaningful, therefore, a national consesus is necessary not only for the resolution of the Maoist problem, but also for holding the elections, as former prime minister and RPP leader Lokendra Bahadur Chand said on Saturday. He has suggested a dialogue and consensus between the King and the parties, as many others have done, adding that any initiative from either side for this would be welcome. But a dialogue is unlikely unless the curbs on democratic freedoms are lifted. Indeed, the polls cannot take place without fulfilment of minimum conditions. One is the wider people’s participation. For the polls to be credible and legitimate, there should also be a free atmosphere for campaigning and other electoral procedures, with the results ultimately truly reflecting the popular will. The emergency has to be terminated to make this possible, while enough peace and security need to be put in place and maintained.

Nobody is talking of ‘guided democracy’ or ‘basic democracy’ for Nepal. Elections should, of course, be held to strengthen constitutional monarchy and multiparty parliamentary democracy, without in any way compromising the letter and spirit of the 1990 Constitution. So it is the duty of the government to take the initiative, as without the cooperation of the political parties, the whole exercise would lose much of its meaning. On their part, the political parties should take any genuine initiative from the government in the right spirit. At a time when critics are starting to question the motive behind the promise to hold the municipal polls, the government would do well to consider holding the polls early enough, not towards the end of the current year.