Difference persists on statute amendment, head of state

BY YUVRAJ ACHARYA & GHANASHYAM OJHA
KATHMANDU, May 26 - The three largest parties in the Constituent Assembly on Monday agreed to implement the republic through Wednesday’s CA meeting despite their differences over the issue of head of state
and amendment of the constitution.
Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist) and CPN-UML leaders agreed to implement the republic Wednesday and keep up negotiations to settle the remaining differences.
The leaders formed a three-member panel comprising NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi, Maoist leader Khim Lal Devkota and UML leader Bhim Rawal to prepare a draft resolution to be presented at the first meeting of the CA to endorse a republic.
The panel has been asked to prepare the draft and present it at a meeting of top leaders at 9 am on Wednesday after consultations with 13 parties in the CA, said Nidhi.
The parties, however, could not agree on the issues of amending the constitution and appointment of a president. NC and UML rejected the Maoists’ nine-point proposal for a new consensus, terming it inadequate and against the fundamental principles of democracy.
They strongly protested the Maoist proposal, especially the provision on the PM doubling as head of state as well as government. “Right from the moment we abolish monarchy, we need a head of state,” said an NC leader.
NC has proposed amendment to 60 clauses of the Interim Constitution to make the constitution contextual in view of the country’s entry to a republican system.
Earlier in the morning, the Maoists had tabled a proposal rejecting the creation of the post of president and amendment of the constitution. They had claimed that the proposals were aimed at inviting political instability and
getting the CA preoccupied in the formation of the government and its ouster, instead of focusing on writing the constitution.
NC presented a nine-point proposal against the Maoist proposal and the CPN-UML came up with a separate 13-point proposal for consensus building. Both the NC
and UML stood for
creation of the post of president as a titular head of state, a proposal the Maoists rejected outright.
Nepali Congress has proposed that the cabinet prepare a proposal for implementation of the republic along with provisions for a president and vice-president to fill the vacant position of head of state right from the moment the monarchy is abolished formally. The NC and UML both proposed that the formation and ouster of governments be simplified in the present context.
They also called for Maoist action toward fostering an environment free of fear through the ending of the paramilitary structure of Maoist sister wings and time-bound settlement of the Maoist army and weapons.
“We have proposed to transform the YCL purely into a political organization, and NC and UML have agreed to this,” said Prachanda talking to reporters after his meeting with visiting US assistant under secretary.
As the meeting was prolonged till late night, they did not take up the issue of choosing the 26 CA members to be nominated by the government. They have agreed to take a decision on the 26-nominees by Tuesday noon. The 26 members are to take oath on Tuesday afternoon along with other elected members.
Despite the difference over key political issues, the Maoists have agreed to scrap the “seven-party monopoly” from the constitution, transform the Young Communist League members into political activists and create a peaceful environment in the villages.Maoists’ 9-point proposal
The Maoists had made a nine-point proposal which failed to address the major demands of the other political parties - provisioning a simple majority to form or remove the government, creating the position of president and sharing the major posts.
The Maoists proposed that a republic must be implemented by the first meeting of the CA. They proposed a concrete Maoist commitment to transform the YCL into a political organization. They argued that changing the two-third majority provision for removal or formation of the government as existing in the interim constitution is meaningless as a two-third majority is required to take any major decision while drafting a new constitution.
The Maoists proposed Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala as head of a high-level mechanism which will operate both the government and parliament. The head of the mechanism will have constitutional and special powers. Koirala has been presented as the most respected statesman in the Maoist proposal.
This rules out the other parties’ demand for a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of the executive. The Maoist proposal says that until a new constitution is in place the prime minister will exercise the authority of head of state.
It has also proposed that the PLA will immediately become part of the government and the integration process will take place subsequently.
Power can be shared among the political parties on the basis of their comparative positions in the CA. (Kantipuronline)