Nepal's long wait for a constitution

In 50 days, on May 28, the deadline for Nepal's lawmakers to draft a constitution for the Himalayan state expires. But there is little optimism that the squabbling parties will agree on the much-needed laws to move the country's peace process forward.

"The present conflict between the parties and their lust for power makes it obvious that we can't have a constitution in the next 50 days," said Nilambar Acharya, chairman of the Constitutional Committee. "So, the politicians should focus on what it is possible to achieve at the moment."
Nepal elected a 601-member Constituent Assembly in 2008 that was expected to write a constitution within two years. That term was extended by a year in May 2010, after continuous squabbling prevented the politicians from meeting their deadline. Politicians are still at odds over a number of key questions.
One of them is how to reintegrate former Maoist combatants, who fought a decade-long civil war that ended in 2006. The peace process has made little progress since the United Nations withdrew in January, handing over the responsibility for the Maoists' integration to the government. While Acharya insists "much of the work is done," the controversial issues are key to the functioning of state and government. Politicians still disagree on the system of governance, the election system and whether the state should be centralised or federal, probably divided into states along ethnic lines.
The Maoists, the strongest power in parliament, want the president to head up the executive. The Nepali Congress party on the other hand, prefers that position to be purely ceremonial. If the prime minister should be directly elected or not is also still up in the air.
Last week, committee meetings became violent and had to be shut down. "The rights of the minority Madhesi-Dalits and Muslims are not reflected in the draft constitution," said lawmaker Bisendra Paswan. "I have thrown a chair out of the window today. I will throw people out if our voices are not incorporated."
The Maoists have proposed a division into 14 provinces on the basis of ethnicity. The idea has been rejected by the Nepali Congress and some smaller parties, who fear community problems and ethnic strife. Complaining about a lack of co-operation, the Maoists announced they would write their own People's Constitution.
"It is clear that those who do not want change are conspiring to foil constitution drafting," Maoist Vice Chairman Mohan Baidhya said. "There will be another people's protest if a constitution that is not inclusive is promulgated under the current circumstances."
The drafting work was laid low for more than seven months, when Nepal's lawmakers failed to elect a premier and form a government. When Jhalanath Khanal of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninists, was elected prime minister two months ago after the Maoists threw their weight behind him, there was hope that the constitutional process might gain speed again. However, conflicts among the ruling coalition and tussles over power-sharing have hindered the formation of a functioning government.
"There is no chance of having a constitution until the three (main) parties strike an agreement," said constitution expert Tikaram Bhattarai. With the government unable to make its presence felt, the security situation in the country has deteriorated. A series of blasts rocked Nepal over the last two weeks. There is now a growing acceptance that the term of the Constituent Assembly will have to be extended yet again, despite the legal hurdles.
"If the Constituent Assembly cannot come up with a full-fledged constitution on time, it should come up with a framework constitution and seek an extension," said former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, hinting an extension was better than dissolving the body.