JOIN USDahal’s opportunism spells trouble for Nepal
Although political uncertainty over government formation in Nepal has ended for now with the swearing-in of a government led by Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the damage done by Dahal’s opportunism to Nepal’s democracy will be felt for some time to come.
Dahal was part of the Nepali Congress-led coalition government and the alliance that fought the recent general election. When the NC refused to concede his demand for the Prime Minister’s post, Dahal switched sides to join forces arch-rival K P Sharma Oli, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal–Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). Although the CPN-MC secured just 11% of the votes and 32 seats in the 275-member lower house of parliament, it will head the new government.
Voters had rejected both the CPN-MC and the CPN-UML; the two parties won far fewer seats in the recent election than they did in the 2017 election. Yet, they have overturned the verdict of the voters to come to power. Nepal is, of course, not new to political opportunism. Its ‘revolving door’ style of politics has seen parties and politicians make and unmake alliances to come to power or topple governments. With this latest episode in unprincipled government formation, Nepal’s politicians have sunk to a new low.
Under a deal, Oli agreed to Dahal heading the seven-party coalition government in return for CPN-UML leaders being appointed as President, Speaker of the House, provincial Chief Ministers, and to key ministerial posts. This is a marriage of convenience, an alliance driven by the hunger for power. The coalition partners share little in terms of ideology, policies or programmes. While the two communist parties played a key role in ousting Nepal’s monarchy and transforming it into a federal and secular republic, there are parties in the coalition that are royalist and/or opposed to the federal set-up.
Dahal and Oli themselves share a complex and acrimonious relationship. They merged their parties to form the government in 2018. However, Oli was reluctant to share power with Dahal and failed to honour the deal underlying government formation. It culminated in a split in the party and a collapse of the government. Will history repeat itself? There is a possibility of Dahal refusing to honour the deal done to form the present government.
Nepal could see a return to the political turbulence of the 2020-21 period, which means that the economy and other important issues will remain on the backburner as politicians focus on political survival. But first, Dahal will need to win a trust vote in a month. Will he manage to hold together the ruling coalition till then?