Kathmandu Post

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Failure of the Westminster style

JAN 15 - After the popular movement of 1990, only
two persons reached the highest elected
post with peoples’ mandate. Late Man
Mohan Adhikary and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai were projected as the Prime Ministerial candidates during the election for the House of Representatives (HOR) in 2051 BS and 2056 BS by Communist Party of Nepal–UML (CPN UML) and Nepali Congress (NC), respectively. And, both of them became Prime Ministers after the election results were announced. But, ironically, both were pulled out of office within less than one year. Minority government led by late Adhikary was thrown out of office through a vote of no confidence. Bhattarai chose to step down after he got fed up with humiliating manipulation orchestrated by NC President Girija Prasad Koirala. In fact, after the restoration of democracy, Bhattarai is the only elected leader who enjoyed the mandate of electorate to lead government with majority support in the parliament.
Prime Minister without mandates
Koirala has so far occupied the Prime Ministerial seat four times. He failed to retain the coveted post for full term because he lacked the peoples mandate. Political analysts have not yet touched this issue. And, surprisingly, no opposition leader stood up in parliament to speak about it. Koirala became PM for the first time unexpectedly because of the surprise defeat of Bhattarai in the first general election held in 1991 after the restoration of democracy. Bhattarai was interim Prime Minister and acting President of NC. NC was elected with a comfortable majority minus Bhattarai in the HOR. Bhattarai’s waterloo turned out to be a boon for Koirala. Yet, he could not keep the house together for more than two third time period of the specified tenure of five years.
The mid term election of 2051 BS gave a big ‘no’ to what Koirala was asking for. NC was reduced in size and pushed to opposition benches from treasury in the hung parliament. While Adhikary was taking oath as PM of the minority government, Koirala could not face his party MPs to contest for the leader of parliamentary party of NC (NCPP). Talking to the press, he said he was not contesting for the post of the leader of NCPP but he would not mind to accept the post if he was unanimously chosen. NC did not bother to consider his second option.
The vertical division of CPN UML and cutthroat politics between Madhav Kumar Nepal led CPN UML and Bamdev Gautam led CPN ML resulted in Koirala becoming the Prime Minister for the second and the third time.
Before going to the polls in 2056 BS, Girija fielded Bhattarai as the Prime Ministerial candidate. He knew that people would not vote for NC if he projected himself as the future PM. NC, under the leadership of Bhattarai, once again, got comfortable majority in the HOR. But less than one year after the election of Bhattarai as PM, Koirala unfolded his hidden agenda to pull Bhattarai out of office. However, the master manipulator Koirala was compelled to give up within less than a year and a half because he did not have the peoples mandate to be there.
Other three politicians, namely Sher Bahadur Deuba, Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Surya Bahadur Thapa also rose to the highest elected post after the restoration of democracy but none of them enjoyed mandate from the people. And, thus, their tenures were short lived.
Horse-trading: Misuse of magical number
The unethical power sharing among the political parties brought a pajero culture in parliament and the rigorous horse-trading exercised throughout the rest of the period of the second HOR witnessed the institutionalisation of corruption. Horse-trading continued in the third HOR where NC had a clear majority. The horse-trading brought three PMs within three years in the third HOR.
Deuba was left without any option, as he often claims, other than dissolving the third HOR. He could not escape from creating a jumbo sized cabinet - to retain the magic number of 57 parliamentarians - to remain as leader of the NC Parliamentary Party. The Koirala clan, which failed to get the support of the magic number of parliamentarians in a straight election for the leader of NCPP, outsmarted him with unethical manipulations. The dissolution of the third HOR and unthoughtful power politics among the political parties paved the way for the Royal take-over of October 4.
PMs without executive power
Chand became PM, once again, after King Gyanendra fired ‘incapable’ PM Deuba unceremoniously. As per the Royal guidelines, Chand led a makeshift government. However, the Chand government without ‘executive power’ did not see 200 moons. The current government led by Surya Bahadur Thapa, which is said to have ‘executive power,’ even failed to get mandate from his own party, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party.
Plainly speaking, CPN-UML did not allow late Adhikary to exercise executive power when he led the minority government. He was always over shadowed by the ambitious Deputy Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, who held the portfolios of defence and foreign affairs. Ministry of Defence is traditionally held by the PM in Nepal. But Nepal, who was virtually ‘party boss’ as the General Secretary, did not allow the then PM Adhikary to hold portfolio of any ministry.
Democratic values- the missing factor
Political morale was reduced to the level of a red light area. The political parties worked to oust the PM of their own party. Bhattarai, Deuba, Chand and Thapa met the same faith due to ‘betrayal’ from the manipulators within their own parties.
Another destructive factor is that all the PMs, except Bhattarai and Chand, recommended the dissolution of the HOR instead of resigning gracefully. What these leaders failed to understand is that a ladder is used not only for climbing up but also is used for coming down safely. They did not use the ladder of the parliamentary system to step down. They, instead, were either thrown from the top or they chose to jump down. Democracy cannot sustain without democrats. Truly speaking, no political parties and their leaders have a proven quality of a democrat. They lack the necessary commitment and dedication.
Alternate model of democracy- a
solution
Labour pain spanning thirteen years did not bear any fruit. This was the most painful period in the history of Nepal. So-called democrats looted the country. They gobbled all the available resources.
Irony of the democratic exercise in Nepal is that those who failed to get people’s mandate failed to honour democratic values and norms. Those in power took the Maoist insurgency lightly. They acted like the Roman Emperor Nero, who was seen playing his flute when Rome was burning in broad daylight. The outbreak of a civil war was not acknowledged by any of the political parties. Greed of politicians to retain power so as to earn few more silver coins has led the country to a point of no return.
Failure of twelve governments in twelve years has given a clear message that the present Westminster style of democracy has miserably failed. A well thought replacement with another model of democracy is the need of the hour to save the country from further destruction. A national debate is needed to find out a right model of democracy in Nepal before the country lands up in the middle of nowhere.
(The writer can be reached at mail.com.np/vidhuprakash@hotmail.com)Posted on: 2004-01-16 03:38

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