E-Paper
Nepal's crown of thorns
King Gyanendra seems to have hit upon a novel method for ushering in democracy in Nepal: announce elections and then declare a winning list of 'candidates', never mind that many of the candidates themselves didn't want to contest!
King Gyanendra seems to have hit upon a novel method for ushering in democracy in Nepal: announce elections and then declare a winning list of 'candidates', never mind that many of the candidates themselves didn't want to contest! This suggests that Nepal may see more trouble soon. For it's now clear that over three-quarters of the 4,000-odd seats in local polls scheduled for next week may have no contestants at all. The main reason appears to be concerns over security after Maoist guerrillas issued new threats against those standing, forcing the government to place most of its 'candidates' in safe houses across the country.
For the king, a lot depends on holding these elections. He has described them as a 'roadmap to democracy', which will supposedly set the stage for parliamentary polls by mid-2007. Unfortunately for the people, this could turn out to be wishful thinking since all that the king has achieved so far is to alienate the main opposition parties. As a result, the political parties are boycotting even local polls, which they have reason to fear are aimed at legitimising an 'illegitimate' regime.
Indeed, the people of Nepal never had a good deal from the time late King Mahendra established a rubber-stamp government and Parliament, after retaining absolute power and outlawing political parties. The run of absolute monarchy ended only when street protests forced the king to hand over power to a multiparty government in 1990. Six years later came the Maoist insurgency, pitting a backward-looking monarchy and an abusive military against fanatical rebels. Gyanendra has obviously worsened the difficult relationship between democracy and royalty with his confused policies. His only chance now to deal with the insurgency and resolve the constitutional crisis lies in initiating dialogue with the political parties. Democracy by any other name would be a sham.
