We meet here to acknowledge the importance of the civil society and its interaction with parliament and democratically elected assemblies for the development of democracy. This is an important issue for all of us. I strongly believe that the role of civil society in the process of democratization of the nations in the world should be a common agenda for the political discourse among the representatives of the people. I hope this meeting would adopt resolutions that would contribute to the development and the strengthening of democracy with the meaningful interplay of the civil society and the parliaments in great deal.
Long ago, the late President Abraham Lincoln of the USA defined democracy as a political system “of the people, by the people and for the people.” The statement still stands valid. Anything that undermines the participation, the consent and the fundamental rights of the people cannot be considered democracy. I disagree with those who make a narrow interpretation of democracy and advocate for the distortions of the democratic principles. Keeping this view about democracy in our mind we all agree that the people drive the nation by their own representatives through free and fair elections.
The fundamental principle that we the parliamentarians should not forget is that the interaction with the civil society is crucially important. It is indeed the very base of a democracy in any society. Democracy can only be developed, fostered and nurtured by the active participation of the people. Democratically elected parliament is the central institution of democracy through which the will of the people is expressed, the laws are passed and the executive is scrutinized and made accountable. Therefore, the crucial role of the civil society for enhancing democracy is desirable not only during the electoral campaign but it is also equally important in strengthening the democratically elected institutions.
Unfortunately, democratic political system and democratic institutions all over the world have been confronting new challenges in the form of terrorism, armed insurrection and racial, religious, and ideological conflicts on one hand and corruption and bad governance on the other. These threats to democracy can only be tackled with the strong popular will of the civil society. Parliament and other elected bodies of the people, therefore, should be more inclusive to accommodate all sections of the society, specially the minority and the marginalized community to ensure their active participation in strengthening democracy.
Allow me to dwell a little on the situation prevailing in Nepal. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990, has enshrined the basic principles of democracy such as basic human rights, adult franchise, parliamentary system of government, constitutional monarchy, multi-party democracy, independent judiciary and the sovereignty of the people. In the spirit of Constitution and parliamentary democracy, all elected representatives are accountable to the sovereign citizens. The Constitution has clearly mentioned in its Directive Principles of the State that the main responsibility of the State shall be to maintain suitable conditions so that the people may enjoy the fruits of democracy through wider participation in the decision-making process.
However, Nepal’s transition to democracy has not been smooth yet. In recent years, a violent conflict has impeded the movement of the nascent democracy. Nepal has been embroiled in the conflict for the past ten years. The violence unleashed by the leftwing extremists seeking to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republican state with one-party totalitarian regime has caused enormous loss to the country in terms of lives, infrastructures and the overall economy. The political loss has been equally immense in the sense that the conflict has disrupted the peace and democratic process. If the violence unleashed in the name of Maoist rebels has paralyzed the democratic processes, the growing misunderstanding amongst the legitimate constitutional forces since the king took direct control of the government earlier this year has equally dented the people’s wish for a joint effort aimed at a negotiated resolution of the armed conflict and the building of a peaceful, prosperous and democratically stable Nepal.
Nepal faces a two-pronged challenge today. There is a pressing need to bring the Maoist extremists to the mainstream of multi party parliamentary democracy. Equally challenging is the task of bringing the warring constitutional forces – the King and recognized political parties together on a common platform to move the country towards a stable, good governed and functioning democracy. I believe that negotiation is a key to achieve both goals so as to clear way for free and fair national elections which are the foundation of any democracy.
Unfortunately, there has been no sign yet of a move towards this direction. There has neither been a sincere move for a negotiated resolution of the violent conflict, nor an honest effort to patch up the differences between the king and the mainstream political parties who constitute the legitimate constitutional forces. The king has announced elections for the municipal councils in three months’ time to be followed by the parliamentary elections next year. Since the mainstream parties have denounced the king’s unilateral announcement and vowed to boycott the polls. The solution, I believe, lies in taking all mainstream parties into confidence and creating an atmosphere for free and fair elections under a legitimate government and a credible international supervision.
The people of Nepal do still respect, support, and have faith in twin pillar of national politics -constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy, which are the basic features of our constitution. It is the strong belief of the Nepalese people in the democratic values and the norms that are rooted in the present Constitution, which makes one optimistic about the future of democracy in Nepal. I am confident that the suspended democratic processes shall soon be resumed. I believe that goodwill, understanding and the support of parliamentarians of all democratic countries represented in this august gathering of the IPU will be important in bringing Nepal’s faltering democracy back on track.
We the parliamentarians as peoples’ representatives have a significant role to make the parliament and other democratically elected institutions more accessible, transparent, and accountable to the people, where the general public may feel more comfortable to inter-act with each other. I believe, the ultimate power of the state is enshrined in the people and it is only the people who can protect all national forces and speed up the democratic process in any challenging times. Therefore, I would like to call upon the distinguished delegates to adopt a common stand that shall contribute to the development and the promotion of interactive measures between the parliament and the civil society. This, I do not need to reiterate, is essential for a mature democracy in the world today.