" The constitutional message is clear that a group of people with the same ideologies take part in the elections. Hence, the present pre-electoral coalitions seem to be unconstitutional from a layman's point of view. The respected Supreme Court and the Election Commission need to clarify this issue. Else, the legality of the upcoming elections could be challenged "
KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 9
Unlike his famous tragedy masterpieces, William Shakespeare composed a lighthearted slapstick play, The Comedy of Errors, in 1594. This farcical comedy also gained immediate popularity. The story of comedy of errors revolves around two sets of identical twins separated at birth who, after many years, converge in the same city, Epherus in ancient Greece. The comical sequences follow afterwards due to the mistaken identity of the twins. Residents of Epherus get perplexed in the whole play in deciphering who is who.
Coming to the contemporary times in Nepal, the periodic general elections are going to be held in less than two weeks. The electoral campaigning of the political parties is on a climax.
The flamboyant election jamboree is going on throughout the country. The political leaders have returned to their respective constituencies after five years with a baggage full of promises and lavish outlines of developmental projects. The major political parties have already released their manifestos from the federal capital with pomp fanfares.
There is nothing to complain about the political campaigning of the political parties during elections in democratic countries. There is slightly more hullabaloo in the underdeveloped and developing countries than in the developed countries during elections.
Hence, the vibrant campaigning of the political parties and independent candidates in Nepal is not an exception. Large portions of the Nepali voters are illiterate and belong to the underprivileged social strata. The agendas of the respective political parties and independent candidates need to be conveyed in exaggerated and animated manner in the language and gesture that the people understand. However, there is an unusual twist in the election campaigning in Nepal that can be correlated with Shakespeare's comedy of errors.
As the people of Epherus were confused by the mistaken identities of the twins in the play, majority of the Nepali voters are also muddled at the moment, the pre-electoral coalition of the major political parties being the reason. Looking at different constellations of the coalitions, it is evident that the main aim of the political parties is to get hold of the future government.
The political beliefs and the principles of the respective parties are not important in this endeavour. Coalition of political parties is not rare in parliamentary democracies.
However, in countries with high political ethics, the parties seek for a post-electoral coalition with like-minded parties to mitigate the political instability if a single party is unable to hold the required majority to form the government.
However, the political parties with high societal and political morality seldom team up with the parties with opposite values.
On the contrary, the culture of pre-electoral coalition seems to be flourishing in Nepal. The comedy of errors began during the previous elections of 2017.
During the local elections, there was a coalition of the Nepali Congress and the Maoist party, the parties with exclusively opposite principles. Within a couple of months, the Maoist party left the existing coalition and joined hands with the Nepal Communist Party (UML). That coalition claimed an astounding majority in the federal parliament.
By now, it has been clear that those coalitions were executed merely to grab the executive power. The comedy of errors during the upcoming elections has reached another level. The mishmash of political parties is quite baffling.
Nepali Congress, a political party with democratic values, is endorsing the Maoist party with hardcore leftist principles. This coalition also includes anti-federalists.
The top-level leadership of the NC has dictated its members and well-wishers to vote for the Maoists and other partners of the coalition. On the other hand, cadres and well-wishers of the Maoist party are ordered to cast their votes for the Nepali Congress candidates.
The UML, doesn't consider its alliance with various political parties with a wide spectrum of principles as a coalition. Nevertheless, it is difficult to digest that a republican and secularist party is campaigning for a staunch royalist and anti-secular Rastriya Prajatantra Party as well as an anti-secular Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nepal) in some constituencies.
The core values and principles of the party are being neglected, and the mission of grabbing the power at any cost is on full throttle. The loyal party members and well-wishers are utterly perplexed, what a comedy of errors.
Debates have been already executed against the pre-electoral coalition culture with the conclusion that the coalition of political parties with opposing ideologies is an immoral practice. However, as of yet, no one has explored its legality.
Article 56 (6) of the constitution clearly mentions the structure of the state being multi-party, competitive, democratic republic. In addition, Article 269 (1) describes a political party as an organisation of persons who are committed to a common political ideology, philosophy and programme. Combining these two articles, the constitutional message is clear that a group of people with the same ideologies take part in the elections.
Hence, the present pre-electoral coalitions seem to be unconstitutional from a layman's point of view. The respected Supreme Court and the Election Commission need to clarify this issue. Else, the legality of the upcoming elections could be challenged.
Shakespeare's comedy of errors ended on a happy note, and the residents of Epherus were finally able to identify who was who among the twins. However, the political comedy of errors in Nepal doesn't seem to reach a logical conclusion anytime soon. If the political parties are power-oriented, the respected SC remains docile, and the EC is concerned only in petty electoral issues, the political turmoil in Nepal will deepen further.
Joshi is senior scientist and neurobiologist at Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
A version of this article appears in the print on November 10, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.