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Political Consensus & Democracy

Prakash Bom - 12/26/2007

Monarchy that has no secular democratic establishment but has been sustained by the feudal propaganda and superstitions can only make arbitrary political decisions for its power. Such an establishment of a monarchy with its military power by all means tends to go against the will of people and democracy. For example, military coup in Thailand that ousted democratically elected prime minister, who is considered to be brave enough to bring sociopolitical and economic changes in the countryside of Thailand, is getting a blow out of the exit poll. People Power Party that has allies with the self-exiled prime minister is winning the election.



One party arbitrary political decision that rules out the scope for the political consensus needs exit poll or referendum in order to make such decision legitimate. But political consensus that involves nation's responsible political parties, which have in history carried out the people's mandate, does not need exit poll or referendum. The political consensus itself is historical thus it is legitimate despite opponents' disagreement with the procedure. Nonetheless, this is how most of the democratic republic nations have been created since the French Revolution.



Political consensus that has been mandated by the people's movements or revolutions is the cornerstone of democracy without which no institution of democracy can be processed. This has been an inevitable historical fact since Athenian democracy (despite Socrates' criticism on politics and politicians) that Nepal could not possibly have escaped it. Therefore, SPA agreement on the political consensus to declare Nepal federal democratic republic is an inevitable historical decision. Democratic political evolution thus has comprehensive ripples of gravity and is completely different from the irrational idea (make believe thought) of fate or destiny. In spite of the instance of mutation in human evolutionary psychology of our society creative (rational and scientific) criticism is essential to rail the political consensus on the track. We have yet long way to go with the ripples of the gravity. This is just the beginning.



First of all, constituent assembly elections must be held successfully as per the twenty-three points political consensus of SPA that must attempt to bring whole nation together for having over 90% electorates turn out in CA elections. We can no longer keep crossing our figure for it. All SPA leaders and cadres must establish non-partisan approach to unite whole nation with one goal to accomplish CA elections.



SPA leaders and cadres must think twice to public their statements in opposition to the twenty-three points historic agreement of SPA leaderships. The twenty-three agreements of SPA meant to nation and the people a great deal at this point that it must successfully accomplish CA elections; it must institutionalize the democracy; and it must establish the national integrity. Those bigmouths who see no rationality of the historic twenty-three point political consensus whether in the Parliament or on the media must consider the urgency of the national unity that we can no longer keep dismantling it.


Political parties who shied away from people's movements yet like to gain the political power have no credential to the people and democracy. Their disapproval of twenty-three point political consensus discredits their own rationality. The rational of the constitutional amendment that will state "the nation shall be federal democratic republic" does not mean nation shall be declared republic right away prior to CA elections. But certainly the amendment guarantees that nation shall be declared republic by the first meet of the simple majority of CA electoral. This is the mandate of the people that Nepal no longer can afford to carry on with the entire establishment of the feudal institution of Hindu monarchy.


Nation that used to rule people with the indirect electoral system and nomination by the monarchy, later (after people's movement I) nomination by the monarchy without any electoral basis and nomination of the member of upper house by the political parties on the percent of representatives in the lower house elected on the basis of the first past the post electoral system! Nepali politics had no flag of the proportional representation electoral system on its horizon until UML raised it. Regarding the history that it is one of the great achievements of the twenty-three-point agreement to adopt 60% proportional representative electoral system for CA elections.



Of course, nation like ours cannot continue with the costly FPTP feudal electoral system that excludes people in minority vote. The greater the number of political parties on the ballot the lower the percent of winners in FPTP. For example, in a constituency where there is a seat of representative and four parties those compete each three of them get 24% of the votes loses the seat. But one party that gets 28% wins the seat. In this case, 72% of the votes of the electorates in this constituency are excluded under the FPTP electoral system.



PR electoral system, on the contrary, counts over 90% of the votes of the electorates by increasing rational number of the representatives. Instead of one seat if there are four seats, in regard to above example, then all of four contestants will win each seat out of PR electoral system. This is the win-win electoral system for the people because their entire vote gets represented. This factor of PR politicians who intend to represent people must understand that "Full PR" electoral system must be implemented in the nation's new constitution for the elections of federal democratic republic representatives from local to the Parliament.



The dignity and power of SPA leaderships' twenty-three-points political consensus will solely depend on their implementations. First of all, SPA government's motion in the Parliament for the constitutional amendment (clauses 1, 2, 3, 3(a) and 3(c) of Article 159) of interim constitution must pass with the two-third majority votes. It should be achieved with the NC and leftist legislators' vote. Most of all, in order to accomplish CA elections the law and order must be established, particularly in Terai districts. It is crucial to address political issues of Madhsi movements.



Commission for restructuring state must understand how federal governance system can make local level of governments (villages and cities) self-sustainable and independent of central control – 'for governance, local resource allocations, law and order management, and justice'. This means local governments have elected legislative assembly, elected executive body and elected judiciary (judges, attorney, law and order commissioner and so on). Regarding the diverse geographical and ethnical factors Nepal must not adopt Indian model of federal system because India does not have elected local levels of governments. It has state government with chief minister whose cabinet controls the rest of state business. In Nepal such a state controlled federal system will be detrimental to national integrity. We need self-sustainable local governments more powerful and efficient than the state governments. Nepal should, in this regard, consider asymmetrical characteristics of federalism.


In the history of democracy there has been no nations, which have been able to institutionalize democracy without the political consensus of the involved political parties. Political consensus is the mandatory jump-start for the nation to begin institutionalizing democracy – constituent assembly elections to draft the constitution (blueprint of the institutions of democracy). How could nation like Nepal move ahead without the political consensus of SPA leaderships, which have carried out thus far the mandate of the people's movement II? Logically, none the other parties have the mandate of the people despite their representations in the interim Parliament.