Nepali Times

Sushil Koirala: Because of the failure of the last Constituent Assembly, people thought only a Nepali Congress victory would guarantee a democratic constitution, which would in turn bring peace, stability, and development in the country.

Madhav Kumar Nepal: The results were expected, even natural. Everyone predicted that the UCPN (M) would fall behind because it had lost the trust of common Nepalis after it failed to write the constitution. Instead, people chose the UML’s agenda of multi-identity federalism, ethnic harmony, and nationalism.

Formation of a new government

SK: I don’t want to go into details about forming a new government because the mandate is clear. When the Maoists were the biggest party in the first CA, we never objected to their leadership. Now, the NC will lead the next government.

MKN: The current mandate is for the UML and NC to cooperate. But that does not mean we will sideline the UCPN (M).

Consensus building

SK: We must try to get everyone’s input in the CA. For that we will need a consensus government.

MKN: There are a lot of smaller parties and we can’t risk forging the wrong kind of alliance this time. Both the NC and UML must remain flexible in their consensus seeking. We might have to accommodate the Baidya Maoists as well as certain issues raised by the RPP-N.

Amending the constitution to make consensus government compulsory

SK: During our election campaign, we asked the people to give us a two-thirds majority. We are the largest party in the CA, but don’t have a majority. We can’t go around changing the constitution after the results.

MKN: We must look for consensus, but cannot amend the constitution. Changing the constitution at this point would be like tying ourselves in chains. The NC and UML must not be egotistical, while other parties need to look beyond their narrow self-interests.

President, prime minister, CA speaker

SK: We want to emphasise the rule of law. Whatever is written in the constitution must be the basis for future governance. The interim constitution says the president can stay in office until a constitution is drafted, which is why all this talk about amending the constitution for the sake of agreement is unacceptable.

MKN: Both parties must come to a package agreement, primarily on power-sharing for the posts of the president, PM, speaker of the house, and deputy speaker. Is the Nepali Congress trying to hurry the process? Has it put any serious thought into how it wants to deal with our party? The NC should be well aware of the consequences of making us angry.

Possibilities of becoming the PM

SK: We are a democratic party. It’s our responsibility to decide who will be the prime minister. Do you think I will insist upon going to Singha Darbar just because I am party chairman? I don’t want to disrespect rules or democratic practice.

MKN: This is not about my personal desires. Whatever the country needs, I will do.

Drafting a new constitution before 2015

SK: The only contentious points are federalism and model of governance. We can discuss these over the next six months and then draft the constitution within a year. If there are disagreements, we can talk about them on the CA floor.

MKN: We’ve agreed on about 80 to 85 per cent of the material. Federalism and form of governance are the biggest issues that need to be resolved. I believe we can come to an understanding within two or three rounds of talks.

Issues raised by the RPP-N

SK:?We became a federal republic state five years ago when our late chairman Girija Prasad Koirala agreed to it. We cannot go back now.

MKN: We must respect the faith that Nepalis have shown in us. In principle, the state must not have an official religion and must treat every religion as the same. It’s the same with social structure. We cannot regress to untouchability, segregation, and discrimination.

Local elections

SK: Our first priority is the constitution. But Nepal has not had local representatives for a long time and it remains one of our major concerns. If possible, we will have local elections three months after we finish the constitution.

MKN: We must have local elections within April 2014. I have already talked to the election commission about the matter and the officials say it is possible. We must have electronic voting so that irregularities can be minimised. Again all this can only be brought about through consensus.

Accommodating the CPN-M

SK: We tried very hard to bring Mohan Baidya and his party on board for the 19 November elections, but they demanded that we change the government and postpone the polls. Now, we can’t amend the constitution just to get them to participate. Still, we are open to discussions and would like them to contribute to to the constitution writing process.

MKN: We must make the CPN-M a part of the CA, whatever it takes. I have repeatedly told CP Gajurel that everyone must be ready to compromise for the greater good of the country.

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