KATHMANDU, JULY 7
With the two largest political parties in the federal parliament agreeing to form a national consensus government and signing a power-sharing pact to oust Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, despite his strategic moves in managing the two largest parties and leading the government, as well as his blatant claims that his party possesses magical numbers, the political turmoil will continue until he is in politics.
Preparations are now on to form Nepal's 18th government in nearly two decades, and the tenth government in nearly a decade after the new constitution goes into effect.
It's as if Nepal has a different government every year, but every year with the same players and the same chaos of political musical chairs.
Although people's expectations were high this year from the newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party, a component of Dahal led government, the party displayed similar weaknesses among traditional political parties and leaders, coupled with internal rift between party president Rabi Lamichhane and General Secretary Mukul Dhakal.
Within 18 months, the government has been formed three times, and the RSP has been in government twice. The sides changed, the coalition shifted and a new government was formed. One thing, however, remains constant: the cravings for power and the game of thrones persist in Nepali politics even after multiple elections after the abolition of monarchy.
For instance, during the 2022 general election, Dahal formed an alliance with the Nepali Congress and contested the election, however, he was denied premiership post-election. So, he switched sides and formed an alliance with CPN-UML.
However, his alliance with CPN-UML lasted only a few months as Prime Minister Dahal changed his mind and formed another power equation with his election time partner, the Nepali Congress, in March 2023. Unsurprisingly, given Dahal nature, he again changed his mind, dumped the NC, and formed an alliance with CPN-UML once again over trust issues.
Finally, both his alliance partners- the NC and CPN-UML-seem to have had enough of the Dahal game and agreed to form a national consensus government, dumping Dahal this time.
It does not appear complicated and confusing, as there have been 13 governments in 16 years and the same old faces facing several scandalous and corruption cases against them.
During the peace process, Girija Prasad Koirala of the NC served as Prime Minister from 2006-2008, and the Republic of Nepal was declared.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the CPN-MC became Prime Minister for approximately nine months (2008-2009) after winning the first Constituent Assembly election.
Madhav Kumar Nepal succeeded him as Prime Minister (2009-2010) from CPN-UML. Jhalnath Khanal became the PM from 2010 to 2011 from CPN-UML again.
The CPN-MC returned to power, and Baburam Bhattarai became Prime Minister in (2011-2012).
To conduct the second Constituent Assembly elections, a non-party government was formed, led by Chief Justice Khilraj Regmi (2012-2013).
Sushil Koirala (2013-2015) became PM after the NC emerged as the largest party in the election. Then KP Sharma Oli became UML's Prime Minister from 2015 to 2016.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the CPN-MC succeeded him as PM from 2016 to 2017, and Sher Bahadur Deuba of the NC led the general election that resulted in the implementation of federalism.
Following the election, KP Sharma Oli (2017-2019) became Prime Minister of the CPN. The court later overturned Oli's decision to dissolve the Parliament.
Meanwhile, CPN-UML was divided, and, despite failing to secure a majority, he was reappointed Prime Minister for two more months in 2021 as the leader of the largest party.
The Supreme Court's Mandamus annulled KP Sharma Oli's second dissolution of the legislature and ordered the appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister, who received the signatures of the majority of MPs.
Following that, Deuba (2021-2022) became Prime Minister for the fifth time in his lifetime. He completed the second general election since the implementation of federalism.
In the last 18 months, Oli-Dahal and Deuba have changed the power dynamic in a bizarre political game of musical chairs. However, Dahal remained the PM. This is poised to end soon, as the date of the floor test has been slated for July 12, and nothing is in his favour this time.
Political experts have expressed their concerns, claiming that top leaders are synonymous with unworthy power-hungry heirs who will and have done whatever it takes to stay in power and in government.
According to Binay Mishra, Assistant Professor at Kathmandu University's Department of Public Policy, the "game of thrones" centred on the top brass is a manifestation of an underlying undemocratic political culture founded on a pyramidal party structure. "Consequently, the dividend of democracy was limited to a few elites, despite frequent changes in the constitutional and political systems.
They will do whatever suits them to stay in power," he added.
"This could be a misinterpretation of the Constitution, as was done during Oli's previous tenure by dissolving the House. This could be an amendment move to remove the proportional representation electoral system (as being buzzed in the market) that presumably keeps the major parties from gaining a majority."
It is not the first time this has happened. Despite repeatedly receiving the full majority, all of the major parties were unable to complete the five-year mandate. Several other parties have emerged as a result of the undemocratic culture that exists within political parties.
As a result, ideology and the election manifesto appear to be diametrically opposed, and all measures have been taken to maintain power. Because, according to the social contract, democracy is intended to deliver societal dividends. "But these parties do not give much thought to delivering the dividend of democracy to society, which is their responsibility as people's elected representatives," he said.
"This is happening because the parties have yet to adopt the democratic system within the party, and all of them, new and old, are one-man shows."
According to a political analyst, Chandra Kishore, after the first Constituent Assembly election, only three leaders remain, and their agreements and disagreements determine the country's roadmap.
"When corruption cases arise, they band together to protect one another, using excuses to haphazardly amend the constitution," he said. "These parties lack general discussion within the party. They sign the power-pact first, followed by an undemocratic executive meeting. They have signed this solely to remain in power."
He added, "Because there are legal processes in place to appoint an outsider from parties in influential positions to deliver, but they are not doing so either. This clearly demonstrates that they have no desire for the welfare of the state other than their own."
