KATHMANDU - All three candidates initially vying to be the first president of
the newly-declared republic in Nepal were pleasantly surprised to find that
each one had Rama as his given name. Those familiar with the great Hindu epic Ramayana
quickly recognize its hero Rama, who used to be the king of Ayoddhyaa. The
story takes the readers to a township called Janakpur, where Rama was married
to Sita.
Now the same Janakpur has suddenly hit the headlines because the person elected
to the presidency, Ram Baran Yadav, 61, hails from that area. Born to a
farmer's family, Yadav was lucky to be educated and eventually qualify as a
medical doctor. His subsequent interest in politics and gradual involvement in
the Nepali Congress, the party with democratic credentials, pushed him up the
ladder, from where he was made a presidential
nominee to contest with two other Rams - Maoist-sponsored Ramraja Prasad Singh
and Ramprit Paswan, who was fielded by a moderate communist party, UML.
The first ballot remained inconclusive, the run-off on Monday made Yadav
victorious over Singh: he secured 308 votes from the Constituent Assembly
comprising 601 members. To some of his supporters, Yadav's victory is the
result of divine intervention.
The swearing-in of the president and his deputy, who also hails from the
southern flatland called Terai, on Wednesday filled the vacuum created since
former king Gyanendra left the palace on June 11, heralding the end of the
monarchy. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who headed the interim
government, has now gained the authority to submit his resignation so that a
new administration can be set up on the basis of elections held in April.
Meanwhile, Yadav's assumption of the high office addresses some of the
grievances of people living in the Terai region. That post-monarchy Nepal's
first head of state comes from a region considered neglected is a telling
message in itself. Analysts also believe Yadav's sober and serious personality
will have a matching effect on those who last year spearheaded a "Madhesi"
movement in Terai, often inserting separatist slogans. Extremists among some of
these groups, however, are not happy with Yadav as he has consistently argued
that poverty and injustice are widespread across the country, and not confined
to Terai.
Yadav, with firsthand knowledge of the woes of the people living in the
highlands and the foothills of snowy mountains, can develop plans for a
balanced development of all regions. This is where Nepalis see a glimmer of
hope amid chaos, anarchy and uncertainty.
Another message of reassurances came from Yadav's decision, immediately after
the election result was made public, to visit the Hindu temple of
Pashupatinath. The Interim constitution has depicted Nepal as a secular state,
but the majority of the people are Hindu, and the religion has been a unifying
force between the highlanders and dwellers of the plains.
Still, newspapers supporting Maoist and other brands of communists criticized
the president for visiting a Hindu shrine and thereby issuing the wrong
message. The deputy president, Paramanand Jha, has been singled out for
criticism for his somewhat blemished image as a supreme court judge. His
Indian-looking attire and use of the Hindi language at the oath-taking ceremony
added further controversy.
The interim statute makes the president largely a ceremonial head of state, but
because of the transitional phase the country is in Yadav's assumption of the
position carries additional significance. His substantive work, for example,
had to start with accepting the incumbent prime minister's resignation and
extending an invitation to Maoist leader Prachanda to constitute a government
with the support of other political parties.
It is also his responsibility to make alternative arrangements should efforts
aimed at forming durable coalitions fail. The highest order of priority,
however, has to be given to drawing up a new constitution to replace the
interim one, with adequate provisions and safeguards for a democratic and
federal system that ensures the voices of ethnic and regional identities.
Official surveys have found 101 ethnic groups in Nepal, with scores of
languages and dialects. To address these and other associated issues is a
formidable challenge.
Sooner rather than later the president must oversee the writing of the
constitution, which has to be done by the Constituent Assembly - a body of 600
members. The time given for this purpose is two years, which can be extended by
six months if the country is placed under a state of emergency.
The president has a duty to observe and protect the existing interim
constitution, which has important provisions for human rights, including
freedom of expression and publication. In addition, he has to play the role of
supreme commander of the Nepal army. This is a significant role in the context
of the existence of another army - the Maoists' numbers 20,000 combatants who
are currently sheltered in cantonments monitored by a United Nations mission.
Their ultimate integration with the security forces continues to be a thorny
issue. Presently, the election of Yadav, a democrat, has provided much-needed
relief to the Nepal army leadership. Had it been Prachanda, who is the head of
People's Liberation Army, or one of his men, it would have created a dangerous
situation.
But what happens if Prachanda agrees to be prime minister - as the leader of
the party with the largest number of seats in the Constituent Assembly - and
decides to retain the Defense portfolio for himself?
"Obviously, his coalition partners will have to persuade Prachanda to take
charge of a ministry or ministries other than Defense," said Chandra Prakash
Mainali to Asia Times Online. Mainali, who heads a smaller left-leaning front,
was involved in an aggressive campaign to get Yadav elected.
The immediate issue confronting Yadav is related to the formation of the
government. After the presidential candidate they fielded lost the election,
the Maoist leadership said they would sit in the opposition. "We have been
morally forced to sit in the opposition, and we accept it," Prachanda said on
Tuesday. They think there is an ongoing conspiracy, both internally and
externally, to isolate the Maoists, even if they got a clear electoral mandate
to head a new government.
From their standpoint, the pre-presidential election alliance formed by
Congress, UML and the party of Madhesis was an "unholy and unnatural one".
Congress and UML leaders, however, deny any wrongdoing, and insist that the
understanding they made together with Madhesis would not go beyond the time of
the election of a speaker for the House, scheduled for Thursday. They consider
a change in the stand of the Maoists as a knee-jerk reaction, and that the
Maoist leadership is aware that the mandate is for working jointly until the
country drafts a new constitution.
Animosity between the Maoists and UML, the communist party with moderate
credentials, developed when the Maoists flatly declined, at the 11th hour, to
support the UML candidate, Madhav Kumar Nepal, for the presidency. The UML
leadership saw it as dishonest and immediately parted company with the Maoists.
Prachanda's deputy, Baburam Bhattarai, is being blamed for the abrupt change in
Maoist policy.
One pro-UML newspaper, Budhabar, accused Bhattarai of conspiracy, saying that
he was allegedly seen escorting an intelligence agent from Nepal's southern
neighbor India to the bedroom of Prachanda minutes before the crucial
negotiations between the two parties. It was after that covert meeting, media
reports say, that the Maoists changed their mind, and fielded another candidate
- Ramraja Prasad Singh.
An alliance of the UML and Maoists would have looked, to some, as both holy and
natural. Together they are in a position to command over 330 votes in the House
of 601. And, as communists, they could jointly push through what could be
described as a "progressive agenda". That would have given them an edge over
their main rival, the Nepali Congress.
And such an alliance could influence the way the new constitution would be
drawn up, even if the constitutional provisions had to be adopted with the
support of a two-thirds majority. But the prospects for creating a strong
left-front look bleak, and the blame is often apportioned to external elements,
which are inimical to the ascendancy of progressive political forces.
But ideology or long-term commitments are hardly a matter of immediate concern.
What is at stake is power and how to reach it. And all 25 parties represented
in the assembly want their share of the cake.
As this rush for power continues, and negotiations for a new setup reach a
protracted phase, Koirala has no plausible reason to hurriedly give up his
caretaker status. And Yadav, his erstwhile protege, can ill-afford to be
insistent.
Dhruba Adhikary is a Kathmandu-based journalist.
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