Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has invited again the agitating parties to sit in the dialogue table. It seems that Prime Minister Oli would have made the invitation just to avoid the criticism labeled to the government for failing to implement the constitution by taking into confidence the agitating parties. As holding of local body elections is considered as the basis to implement the constitution, Prime Minister Oli would have parroting about the elections in the local bodies.
However, holding of local body election would not possible until and unless the existing federal structures, as provisioned in the new constitution, come into implementations. The parroting claim of the government to hold the local body election on the name of implementing the constitution is not possible now as not only a section of a society has stand against the existing federal structures but also the local unites under the federal states are fixed yet. As some Madhes based political parties and the indigenous groups have been protesting the existing constitutional provisions of the federal structures, the government should settle the differences first.
Though the Prime Minister Oli has invited the agitating parties, the disgruntle parties have abruptly rejected the proposal, that mean there is no possible of consensus immediately. It has become crystal clear that neither the incumbent government would be able to hold the election by taking into confidence to the agitating parties nor it has any capacity to implement the constitution forcefully sans of consensus with them.
As Nepal has not seen elections in the local bodies for more than one and half decade, holding of local body election is most in the country not only to implement the constitution but also to provide feelings to the people of government in the local levels. The people at the local level are facing numerous hassles in the absence of their representatives.
The people are deprived even from the basic service that can be delivered from VDC office. The development budget mobilized in the VDCs is misused rampantly in the absence of people’s representatives. The big political parties, particularly the allies of the incumbent government in the center are gulping the development budget on the name of on the all party mechanism in the local bodies.
The government’s decision to run the local bodies as per the strength or share in the central politics has not only deprived the people from their rights but also slandering the fundamental principle of the democracy.
With the promulgation of the new constitution, the debates are riffed in the society over the future of the local bodies and its elections. There is a looming question over the mind of people that how would be possible to hold the local bodies at this juncture as claimed by the government.
As the people in the local levels have desperately been waiting for their representatives, the statements of the Prime Minister would have also raised the expectations. But the statements of the Prime Minister over the issue of local body election was just to win the sentiments of the people but not to hold the local body elections as of need and desire of the people.
We are not in position to blame merely the Prime Minister too, but also the other political parties for pronouncing the issue of local body elections just to win the sentiments of the people but not to hold. As periodic election particularly the local body election is the fundamental pillar of functional democracy, we always welcome the elections.
But concerns of our here is that the issue of local body election should not be used as of tricks just to win the sentiments of the people. As we had repeatedly been insisting for the consensus government, we would like to repeat again here that national consensus government is the only way-out most not only to hold the elections but also to implement the constitution by overcoming the hurdles of the country.
