Maoist boycott robs constitutional bodies of chiefs

KATHMANDU, Sept 8: Filling of posts at the constitutional bodies that have remained vacant for long has become further uncertain as the main opposition party Unified CPN (Maoist) has decided to boycott the meeting of the Constitutional Council (CC), the only body that can recommend names for these posts.



The CC meeting cannot take place in the absence of the opposition leader.[break]



The government has failed to hold the meeting of the CC because of the absence of the opposition leader, who is also a member of the CC. Dispute among the main political parties over the sharing of positions in the constitutional bodies is another reason for the vacuum at those bodies.



The opposition party has made it clear that it won´t attend the meeting nor accept the decisions of the CC. “We have decided to boycott the CC meeting until there is a new government under our leadership,” Dina Nath Sharma, UCPN (Maoist) spokesperson, told myrepublica.com. He argued that the current government has no legal basis for appointing anyone to the constitutional bodies.



At present, eight senior posts are lying vacant at the constitutional bodies. Four of the constitutional bodies have vacancies for their heads and others have vacancies for other key members.



The vacant posts of chiefs and members of the constitutional bodies have affected regular work at these offices.



The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Election Commission (EC) and the Office of Auditor General (OAG) have no chiefs at present.



The CIAA has been running its activities for almost three years without a chief commissioner. There was an instance of feud between two commissioners about one and half years ago.



“The commission still faces difficulty taking unanimous decisions” said a high ranking official at the CIAA. The CIAA has altogether four posts remaining vacant since two years, including that of the chief.



“The government tried to hold the CC meeting. However, it couldn´t take place as the Maoists refused to attend any meeting,” said Law and Justice Minister Prem Bahadur Singh.



Singh also said that dispute among the main parties over the sharing of positions in the constitutional bodies is another factor prolonging the vacuum at these offices.

The EC has two posts vacant including that of chief commissioner. Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety has been working as Acting Chief Commissioner since then Chief Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel resigned from the post a couple of months ago.



Similarly, the Office of Auditor General has been without a chief for two years. The post of chief has remained vacant for the past one year.



The CC comprises the prime minister, the chief justice, the speaker of parliament, the opposition leader and two ministers nominated by the prime minister.

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