Who will prevail?: Fight over local bodies 

May 25, 2006
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The CPN (UML)—one of the constituents of the Seven Party Alliance—has locked horns with the CPN (Maoist) over the issue of reinstatement of the local bodies that were elected nine years ago (in 2054 BS.)

A member of the Maoist negotiating team Dinanath Sharma

A member of the Maoist negotiating team Dinanath Sharma (File Photo)
Talking to Nepalnews, a member of the Maoist negotiation team Dinanath Sharma said that the call of the political parties to revive the local bodies was a regressive thought.

“By reviving the local bodies they are not moving ahead but returning back to 1990, which is not acceptable for us as reviving local bodies is not the mandate of the popular movement of the country and people’s aspirations,” Sharma added.

Sharma alleged that rather than focusing in the core issue of forming new constitution and holding elections to the Constituent Assembly, the political parties were moving towards the direction of confrontation at the local level by reviving the local bodies.

When asked why the Maoists were opposing the revival of local people’s representatives at a time when they had not dissolve their parallel “people’s governments” constituted by them at the local level, Sharma claimed that the local bodies were formed by the people and were the outcome of the people’s struggle. He, however, said such bodies could be dissolved after the success of the peace talks between the government and the Maoists.

“Rather than reviving local bodies we can go ahead by forming political units, comprising representation of all political parties,” said Sharma. “We have People’s army, People’s Government and Autonomous regions, we are ready to resolve such issues through the process of negotiations,” he added.

The Maoists have been demanding immediate dissolution of the reinstated parliament and the present constitution and demanding a political conference that would constitute an interim government.

However, SPA constituents including the UML have insisted that the parliament should not be dissolved until there is some mechanism to represent people of the country. The UML—that had won elections in nearly 60 percent of the seats in the local bodies during the last elections—has also been demanding that popularly elected representatives to local bodies be reinstated through political decision. There is no legal provision to do that.

Talking to Nepalnews, Shanker Pokhrel, a CPN UML lawmaker, said, “Revival of the local bodies will strengthen the democratic movement of the country and help towards establishing a democratic republic.”

Pokhrel further added that the issue of reinstatement of local bodies could be discussed during the negotiation table and provision should be made to incorporate the Maoists at the local level as well when they participate in the interim government.

“It is quite contrary that they (the Maoists) are continuing their parallel institutions at the local level but protesting against the revival of democratically elected institutions,” he added.

 

During the decade-old insurgency, local bodies have been one of the targets of the Maoists terming them as “outposts of the old regime.” They stepped up their attacks against municipalities during the municipal polls conducted by the royal government in February this year.

Analysts say as the country has just begun a peace process differences like reinstatement of the local bodies should not be blown out of proportions.

Political analyst Nilamber Acharya (File Photo)

Political analyst Nilamber Acharya (File Photo)
Political Analyst Nilamber Acharya said the revival of local bodies was a democratic process and that Maoists should not oppose the decision as the government needs to run smoothly for which presence of people’s representatives at the local level is essential.

“The Maoists should dissolve their people’s government and their army for the peaceful settlement of the insurgency through talks. They should not feel uncomfortable only because they did not have representation at the local bodies. The issue should be resolved through mutual understanding,” Acharya added.

Some analysts, however, see the latest row as ‘unseen struggle’ between the CPN (Maoist) and the CPN (UML) over the issue of strengthening their organizational bases at the local level. Thousands of local cadres of the UML defected the party after its vertical split in 1998 and joined the CPN (Maoist). While the reinstatement of the representatives elected to the local bodies would help the UML to regain their lost strength to some extent, for Maoists it would be a direct threat to their hold in their “areas of influence.”