Despite sorting out over 220 disputes, the political parties have been locking horns over the form of governance, electoral system and the federal model to be adopted in the new constitution. But lately, the top leaders from the major political parties have shown willingness to settle the contentious issues.[break]
A proposal floated by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, at the meeting of the subcommittee formed to settle disputes in constitution writing on Saturday, has instilled hope among the members of the subcommittee.
At the meeting, Dahal, who also heads the panel, clearly indicated that his party is ready to relent on his party´s previous stances.
"Let´s find the models similar to the systems that we have been practicing since the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls," a leader quoted Dahal as saying about governance and electoral system.
On the form of governance, Dahal proposed a system with the president as head of the state and the prime minister as head of the government.
"To make the task easier, let´s entrust a taskforce the responsibility of defining the jurisdiction of the president and the prime minister," Dahal had said at the meeting.
Dahal is for taking ahead the proposal forwarded by a taskforce comprising lawmakers Agni Kharel, Khimlal Devkota, Radheshyam Adhikari, Sapana Malla Pradhan and Laxman Lal Karna, formed earlier.
A taskforce member informed that they have defined a broader jurisdiction of the president and the prime minister. The taskforce has proposed to adopt a system of electing the president directly by the people and to elect a prime minister from parliament.
"If no party commands majority in the House, a coalition of two or more parties may form the government. If they fail to form such an alliance, the largest party will form the government," said the leader. But if such a government fails to win vote of trust within a period of one month, it shall have to fix a date for fresh polls to be conducted within six months.
The directly elected president will have a defined executive role. "Besides prerogative powers, the president will also execute other duties on the recommendation of the government agencies," the member told Republica.
Leaders from Nepali Congress are also positive about this idea. "We have found the idea agreeable as it is different from the NC-proposed west ministerial model and the Maoist-proposed presidential system. In fact, it can be a win-win situation for all," a leader told Republica. The CPN-UML, too, may accept this idea because the model proposed in its manifesto has similar features.
On electoral system, many leaders believe they will ultimately end up with the mixed electoral model as practiced in the CA election. "The top leaders have already made up their minds in that direction. The only issue they may differ over is the percentage to be elected under the first-past-the-post system and the proportional representative system," the leader said.
Similarly, on state restructuring, the parties are likely to agree on forming an experts´ panel that would recommend a federal model to be adopted in the new constitution.
The NC, which has been opposing the idea so far, is holding discussion at the party´s central committee meeting on whether such a panel can be an alternative to the proposed state restructuring commission. Lately, the NC has softened its stance over the matter.
The road ahead, however, might not be as easy.
"The progress in constitution writing largely depends on the progress made in the peace process," another leader said. "Other non-Maoist parties, particularly the NC, won´t make any compromise if the Maoist-led government doesn´t make tangible progress in the peace process."
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