Nepal president sets Saturday deadline to form new govt

5 May 2009,

It was a feeling of déjà vu for Nepal on Tuesday when the President Dr Ram Baran Yadav asked the squabbling parties to stitch together a consensus government by Saturday. Less than one year ago, he had given the same call when the historic constituent assembly elections were over and the Maoists emerged as the biggest party yet fell short of majority and could not prop up a government on their own.

At that time too the 25 parliamentary parties had failed to come up with a consensus government, forcing the President to order the next alternative: holding an election in the 601-member interim parliament and electing a new prime minister on the basis of simple majority.

Now the plot remains the same, only the characters have become interchanged. The Maoists are now in the opposition and have outright rejected the presidential directive, instead vowing to keep up a street and house battle to unseat him as well as army chief Gen Rookmangud Katawal, the bone of contention who led to the unravelling of the Maoist government on Monday.

The interim parliament, paralysed in the past by the opposition Nepali Congress (NC) party, on Tuesday saw the out-of-power Maoists take their place. The house had no hope of conducting its business as the largest party in the house stormed the rostrum, raising slogans against the President and condemning his "unconstitutional move" of reinstating the army chief, Gen Rookmangud Katawal, whom the Maoist government had sacked on Sunday.

"We demand the revoking of the unconstitutional step and will not allow the house to sit till it is done," the chief of the Maoists' parliamentary party, Narayan Kaji Shrestha Prakash, said.

The Maoists also boycotted the all-party meet called by its former allies, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), that is now trying to form a new government with the support of NC.
In a surprise twist, even the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the fourth largest party and a critical ally for the formation of a new government, also stayed away from the UML-called meeting, raising serious doubts about the Saturday deadline.

If the deadline fails, the president will have to call an election in parliament to choose a new prime minister. Last August, Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda had won resoundingly trouncing NC candidate Sher Bahadur Deuba. This time, it would be impossible to hold the election if the Maoists continue their war on the house.

Throughout the tension-filled day, Maoists kept up protests in the capital as well as outside districts. They received a shot in the arm from leading human rights activists who tried to hold a protest rally in front of the presidential office and were detained by police for some time.

In yet another dramatic move, Inhured International, a human rights organisation, joined the protests against the president, taking him to court. On Monday, the NGO had filed a writ in the Supreme Court, asking for a stay on the reinstatement of Katawal. Judge Balram KC on Tuesday began hearing the petitioners watched by the entire nation.

If the court pronounces a quick verdict that would probably be the best way out of the growing crisis. A verdict in favour of the president would force the Maoists to tone down their protests as otherwise they would be seen as a party with no respect for the judiciary. If the court says Yadav acted unconstitutionally, it could lead to the exit of republic Nepal’s first president.