President Ram Baran Yadav's role as the ceremonial head of state has been a suspect from the day when, back in 2009, he annulled the decision of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to dismiss the army chief. In retrospect, that might have been the right decision, for the Maoists back then seemed to be in a mood to impose a totalitarian Maoist dictatorship. But that is beside the point. It was a case of illegal exercise of power by the president's office and it should be recognized as such. Since that time Sheetal Niwas has repeatedly abused its power and brought the ceremonial presidency into controversy. On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala reportedly stormed out of Sheetal Niwas after President Yadav suggested that not enough was being done to widen the support base for new constitution.We also believe that the new constitution should have the widest possible support, but such support, in our view, has to be sought without stopping the constitutional process. But what we or the president privately believes is again irrelevant. As the ceremonial head of state, he has no business poking his nose into how the sovereign Constituent Assembly goes about drafting the new constitution. His dubious role in the past few years, most crucially during the dying days of the first Constituent Assembly in May, 2012, seemed to be motivated with only one desire: prolonging his tenure as president. His time is long up. Initially elected for two years, he has continuously served in the same post for the last seven years. Now that the date for promulgation of new constitution (September 20th) has been announced—which will also be the day he will have to vacate the president's office—he once again seems desperate to cling on. In doing so, he is damaging the reputation of this honorable office. The new constitution being prepared by the Constituent Assembly envisions a ceremonial president and a plenipotentiary prime minister. But if the ceremonial head of state can so easily overstep his legal bounds, the next occupant of Sheetal Niwas could, by following Yadav's precedent, also try to needlessly meddle in the functioning of the elected government.
We would like to urge President Ram Baran Yadav to refrain from doing anything that could further damage his legacy as the inaugural president of republican Nepal. Whatever the motivation behind his recent activism, ultimately, it hampers the constitutional process, reduces people's faith in his office, and sullies his personal image. After the first Constituent Assembly officially abolished the institution of monarchy in 2008, King Gyanendra had surprised many of his critics by so easily vacating the royal palace. He had a 250-year-old legacy to protect. It could not have been easy for the ambitious monarch to give it all away so easily. But he did it. So his dignified exit from Narayanhiti Palace has become something Nepalis, who otherwise had many reasons to hate him, look back on with admiration for the otherwise friendless Gyanendra. Surely, we have the right to expect the same of the head of the state elected by the sovereign Constituent Assembly.
Related story
PM Oli expresses concern over frequent tremors
-1200x560-1779450784.webp)
