There is renewed optimism in the country after the second Constituent Assembly elections, even though the same faces will be leading the house. As it becomes increasingly certain that the Nepali Congress will form an alliance with the UML, the two oldest parties of Nepal would do well to focus their attention on the following issues.
1. Draft a win-win constitution. This is harder than it sounds, but not as difficult as it was five years ago. The first CA couldn’t reach an agreement on issues of federalism and state structuring. Talks also broke down over the model of governance. All parties took a defensive stance and their selfishness ultimately led to the demise of the assembly.
No one ever imagined a second CA and that is why it is imperative for parties to be flexible this time. There is ground for a middle path and also possibility for compromise in the nature, number and name of prospective provinces. The parties realise that the equation has changed and so has the public mandate – Nepalis want results, not ideological battles.
2. The new government must make the economy a top priority. The severe lack of jobs and widespread corruption have brought this country’s progress to a grinding halt. While the state is all too happy about the billions of dollars that our migrant labourers send back home, it has done very little to create new jobs for our youth within Nepal. The government has also failed to utilise the large amounts of remittance for investments or to generate capital.
The wholesale plunder of the state exchequer must also stop immediately. The new CA is an opportunity for political leaders to gain the public trust by purging their parties as well as the state mechanism of such corrupt practices and focusing on the larger good.
3. Enforce the rule of law and improve security measures so that local as well as international investors feel confident enough to start new projects and common citizens feel like they have a good and safe future here.
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