“The current public administration is not directly linked with the people. We should develop some procedures through which people will directly monitor public administration,” said Dr Bhattarai speaking at the Constituent Assembly (CA). [break]
Defending his party´s proposal on the direct election of the executive president, he said the federation will need a strong center in its initial phase and the directly elected president would cater to that need. “Otherwise the country will face the danger of instability and disintegration.”
The executive president will be the representative of all the sections of the people and diversity in the country, he said, adding that it would also ensure separation of power and checks and balances.
He also argued that the new constitution should develop some devices to limit the president´s power. The constitution should also have some provisions through which the executive president can be removed from office, he said.
Responding to accusations that the Maoists have envisioned parliament without an opposition, he argued that parliament would itself play the role. The Maoists have proposed consensus system through which the president would form a cabinet.
Meanwhile, UML leader Ram Nath Dhakal argued that his party floated their proposal on the system of governance incorporating the best in the Westminster and presidential system. He argued that the direct election of prime minister would ensure political stability as well as prevent the regime from turning totalitarian.
Stating that the Maoist proposal of picking the cabinet ministers by the directly elected president doesn´t exist anywhere in the world, Dhakal claimed that the Maoist proposal to let parliament control the judiciary violates the principle of checks and balances. The UML leader also said that the election system proposed by the Maoists will lead to ethnicity-based conflict. The Maoists have proposed multi-member constituency based on proportional representation.
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