The election of the first Nepali president by the recently elected Constituent Assembly has become an epoch-making event in the political history of Nepal. This is something that the 99.9 percent Nepalis, who voted for the republican structure of the country, cannot differ from. A Nepali citizen was able to claim and win the position of the head of the state. This is the basic fact to note.
However, most of the Nepalis could not enjoy and celebrate this history-making event. Why? No nationwide celebrations could be seen. The reasons are very serious.
Those who did their best to protect feudal monarchy throughout their political life were trying to displace the genuine repubican forces of the country. They did this in the name of electing the first president of the country. Ram Raja Prasad Singh, a veteran republican leader of Nepal, was the Maoist-backed presidential candidate. He was defeated by the mega-alliance among 23 parties. He would definitely win if he was backed up not by the Maoist party but by some other pro-India force.
A psychological reason defeated Singh. All the other 23 parties, out of 25 parties, believed the emergence of Maoists as a peaceful political force was a direct threat to their future. This was the reason for their alliance. There was no other notable factor. Politics of vendetta, it is.
Perhaps Maoists, too, must have learnt something from this election. They might have developed a dominating attitude, disliked by other political forces. Although Ram Raja Prasad Singh had practically sowed the seed of republic during King Mahendra’s reign in Nepal, he had to accept the defeat jointly caused by former monarchists. He had challened the king at the time of taking oath—he had to swear in for dying for monarchy but he swore in for dying for the people of Nepal. This pro-public commitment challening the monarchy led him to prison. In 1985, Singh led a series of violent bomb explosions against the establishments of monarchy. The royal regime declared a death sentence against him and his colleagues. Influenced by Marxism, he never changed his stance for republic. On the contrary, many so-called prominet communist leaders had surrendered to monarchy and served feudalism.
A serious implication of the presidential election is the fact that the Nepali Congress and the UML will do everything they can to counter the Maoists’ move towards state power. They are seeking pre-guarantee that nothing will change with the Maoists in power. But Maoists have promised to the people that there will be something different to appreciate if they go to power. Their argument remains that the previously ruling parties want to prevent revolutionaries from implementing certain policies that could further consolidate their hold in power.
The anti-Maoist alliance in the presidential election shows the other parties’ fear. Another notable fact in the presidential election is the victory of Vice-President Parmananda Jha, a former judge questioned by the Supreme Court of Nepal for mishandling a drug deal case. He was demoted from the Supreme Court justice to the Appellate Court judge for his alleged involvement in releasing a Dil Bahadur Gurung imprisoned for drug trafficking.
Equally worth mentioning regarding the presidential election is the truth that the candidates were not inclusively elected. Both belong to the Terai region. No woman at all. Maoists had given inclusive candidature: one from the Terai region and one woman from the Hills. But the alliance, in the name of defeating Maoists any way, did not consider the issue of inclusiveness.
The alliance themselves could give inclusive candidature, but they did not. It is so because of their inherent character. Attached to the issue of inclusiveness is the fact that the Maoists raised the candidates not from their own parties but from civil society category. Shanta Shrestha, the woman candidate for the Vice-President and Ram Raja Prasad Singh, the presidential candidate, both are not affiliated to the Maoist party. But the Nepali Congress and the UML wanted to capture the presidential position themselves.
The latest declaration by the Maoist party not to form the government so long as the current 23-party alliance remains against them shows that they are interested in doing homework for the two-third majority in the future election. But the Nepalis, forced to live painful lives, wonder what will happen if political ethics is always overshadowed.