Show reciprocal gesture

It has become rare for our political parties, especially the UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, to agree on anything. They did so on Saturday – to postpone the election for the chairman of the Constitutional Committee (CC), which has been lying vacant since its chair, Madhav Kumar Nepal, became prime minister (PM) on May 23. The new chairman should have been elected by June 23 but our squabbling Big Three could agree neither on a consensual candidate nor on holding competitive election for the crucial post.



The whole episode has shown the two big parties in the current government in poor light, by failing to reciprocate a Maoist gesture on the CC chair. The UCPN (Maoist) demonstrated magnanimity by asking UML’s Nepal to head the committee, which is entrusted with the task to finalize the preliminary draft of the new constitution by virtue of its coordinating role apart from finalizing the preamble to the constitution. The Maoists have named an excellent candidate for the post – Dr Baburam Bhattarai – and it would be prudent and responsible not to oppose his candidacy.



However, while the UML said, as is its wont, that it would strive for ‘consensus’, the NC has floated the names of some of its own candidates. The UML, instead of taking to its oft-repeated, and at times directionless, ‘middle path’, should persuade its partner in the government to give in. The NC must give up the claim. These Big Three, who had lost trust in each other right since the Constituent Assembly elections in April 2008, have an opportunity to rebuild it. At stake is the future of the peace process, which includes writing of the constitution by May next year. The NC and the UML should not forget that with the resignation of Maoist government, all the important positions in the government and the parliament are headed by non-Maoists. It will only help, not hinder, the peace process to move forward by having a Maoist to head the CC.



There is actually another benefit by not opposing a Maoist candidate. If following a past precedent on CC chair leads to a Maoist head, a similar example on the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) should lead to a non-Maoist heading it. The position of the head of AISC – whose task is to oversee integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants – has been vacant since Maoist PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned on May 3. When there was a difference between the three big parties over who should head the AISC, the Maoists convincingly argued that the PM is the right choice. Now the Maoists should give up their claim for the coordinator of the committee. We urge the parties to agree on Dr Bhattarai as CC chair and PM Nepal as head of the AISC.

Related story

Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' are not actually reciprocal