The election of CPN-UML senior leader Bidhya Devi Bhandari as the first President of Nepal under the new constitution marks a historic moment. Having a woman as the head of state sends a message that Nepal is serious about its promise of an inclusive polity. Some might point out that Bhandari's commitment to women's issues is iffy, as she has often seemed to support women's secondary role in Nepali society. Others believe the only reason Bhandari has become the president is because she is thought of as close to Prime Minister and party chairman KP Oli. But she is a woman and she now occupies the most respected office in the country. Moreover, her victory in the parliamentary election for president was announced by another woman, Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, to thunderous applause. This, in itself, is laden with symbolism for Nepali women. So we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Bhandari and wish for her fruitful tenure as the president. But we are also troubled by the fissures the elections of the two top posts in the country have created in the pro-constitution alliance.Nepali Congress has only itself to blame for its decision to field a rival candidate for prime minister even when it was clear that Oli had locked in a comfortable parliamentary majority for himself. This volte-face of Congress was against the gentleman's agreement with UML that led to the formation of Sushil Koirala government. If Congress had backed Oli as prime minister, it could have easily secured the Presidency. Since it decided to field a candidate for president on Wednesday—again when it was clear that its candidate would lose—we cannot assume that the party was not interested in presidency. This does not make sense. It is hard to understand why Congress would deliberately weaken its hand in national polity. Thanks to this confusing Congress policy, the constitution alliance between the Big Three, which was so crucial for meaningful implementation of the new constitution, has now been broken. It has also led to a potentially dangerous position whereby both the president and prime minister belong to same political faction in the same party.
It is thus a time for soul searching for Congress leadership. The animosity that has been generated between Congress and UML won't be easy to remove. But the two parties have no option to working together for the foreseeable future if post-2006 achievements are to be secured. We also hope that both the prime minister and the new president will do everything in their capacity to mend the frayed relationship with Congress and to take the agitating Madheshi and Tharu forces into confidence on new constitution, the two most crucial tasks before the UML duo. But this does not mean the President has the leeway to exceed the bounds of her ceremonial office, which the previous occupant of Sheetal Niwas repeatedly attempted. The legacy of Bidya Bhandari as president will be determined less by what she does than by what she refrains from while in office.
Related story
Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas f...
