The government has approved the agreement signed with Gen-G on Wednesday through the Council of Ministers on Thursday. It is seen that half a dozen mechanisms, including a commission and a council, will have to be formed to implement the 10-point agreement between the government and Gen-G.

Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal said that the government will move forward by prioritizing the points in the agreement. “The agreement is being implemented gradually, and the government will work by prioritizing the points that can be implemented immediately and those that need to be implemented in the long term,” he said.

According to the agreement, a ‘high-level task force for martyrs and injured’ will be formed. The task force will coordinate with the victim’s family and ensure the provision of relief, compensation, free treatment, education, employment and respect. 

The agreement states that the ‘mandate of the High-Level Inquiry Commission on the 23 and 24 Bhadra incidents’ will be expanded. The commission will conduct an impartial investigation into the incidents of repression, extrajudicial killings and human rights violations during the movement and recommend action against the guilty. The commission has also been given the authority to ‘screen’ to withdraw false cases filed against the protesters.

Similarly, although the agreement mentions the formation of a ‘permanent commission for the prevention of corruption’, it seems to conflict with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority and the National Vigilance Center. There are also similar agencies such as Revenue Fraud and Financial Crimes, Revenue Investigation Department, and Money Laundering Department. About a dozen and a half agencies have been empowered to conduct similar investigations and prosecutions and even file cases.

The agreement mentions the formation of a ‘High-Level Commission to Investigate Political Corruption’. It is said that this commission will work to investigate the undisclosed assets of people holding public positions, prevent partisanship of public institutions, and investigate the assets of establishments opened in the name of party leaders. This commission will also recommend the nationalization of assets whose sources are not disclosed.

The agreement also states that a separate ‘Security Study and Reform Mechanism’ will be formed to prevent possible repression by security agencies during future protests and to study the mental and social security of security personnel.

It is said that a ‘High-Level Constitution Amendment Suggestion Commission’ comprising experts and Gen-G representatives will be formed to review the implementation of the constitution and improve the governance structure, electoral system, and inclusiveness. It will suggest issues including a directly elected executive and a fully proportional electoral system. The commission is said to prepare a report with suggestions after conducting extensive debate, dialogue, interaction and citizen consultation at the local, provincial and federal levels.

The commission is said to make suggestions for amending the constitution and regarding the structure of the federal parliament and provincial assemblies. The agenda of the agreement includes limiting the term of the head of state, the chief executive of all three levels of government and members of the council of ministers to two full terms, not exceeding 10 years, to setting the minimum age for candidates for the House of Representatives, provincial assemblies and local level people's representatives at 21 years.

It is said that a permanent 'Gen-G Council' will be formed with representation of Gen-G youth to monitor the government, assist in policy formulation and maintain good governance. Both the government and the agitators have expressed their commitment to strictly implement the agreement through these mechanisms. However, the question seems to arise whether the government that comes after the elections will recognize this mechanism based on the approval of the interim government and its publication in the gazette.

Many issues of the agreement between Gen-G and the government are in the constitution and law. Many issues of the 10-point agreement between the government and representatives of the Gen-G movement have already been mentioned in the constitution. Some provisions are still being implemented, according to legal experts. For example, one point of the agreement mentions the immediate amendment of the prevailing law to reform the electoral system. But reforming the law is only possible through parliament. This is a matter mentioned in the constitution.

Similarly, the agreement also mentions the provision of 'no vote' in the ballot paper, which means not voting for any candidate. Twelve years ago, in 2070, the Supreme Court, a joint bench of the then Justices Kalyan Shrestha and Prakash Vasti, had issued a directive order to keep the provision of no vote in local body or parliamentary elections.

Following the Supreme Court's order, such a proposal is made in the draft of the Unified Election Law submitted by the Election Commission to the Ministry of Home Affairs. This issue was also proposed in the House of Representatives election bill in 2074. But the parties had rejected the proposed provision of 'no vote' in the party system.

Another point in the agreement is that only those who are selected through primary elections within a political party will be allowed to run for election. Recently, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has already held primary elections to select candidates for Rupandehi-3. It has been said that this will be implemented in the upcoming elections as well.

The agreement states that a provision will be made that a president or chairman in a political party can only serve a maximum of two terms. Currently, the Nepali Congress has made a provision through its statute that the party president can only serve two terms. According to the Nepali Congress statute, Sher Bahadur Deuba will not be allowed to run for the next Nepali Congress president. Meanwhile, the UML had also made a provision in its statute that the president can serve two terms, but this provision has been removed in the UML by amending the statute recently.

There is no binding provision in the law on political parties regarding the number of times a president or chairman can be elected. It seems that only parliament can amend the party law as demanded by Gen-G. Therefore, there is a possibility that the agreement made with the current electoral government in this regard will not be addressed by the government that comes after the election.

Similarly, the agreement states that legal provisions will be made to control unhealthy alliances formed only for election purposes. Currently, the election law allows more than two parties to contest elections under a single election symbol. The agreement between Gen-G and the government cannot prevent any party from supporting another candidate without fielding its own candidate.

The agreement between the government and the representatives of the Gen-G movement states that the posts of President, Prime Minister, and Minister, including the executive chief, will be limited to two full terms. Currently, there is a constitutional provision that local level heads can only serve two terms.

There is a clear provision that they cannot serve a third time as local level heads. Similarly, the agreement states that the Prime Minister can serve only two terms. He will be allowed to serve as Prime Minister for two full terms, i.e. a maximum of 10 years. But so far, no Prime Minister has served a full term. However, the constitution does not specify only two terms for the Prime Minister. The constitution itself states that the President and Vice President can serve only two terms.

Another point of the agreement states that details of the assets and financial resources of all political parties will be required. Currently, the Election Commission is demanding audit reports from parties that disclose their income and expenditure. There is already a provision in the law to bar political parties that do not submit their income and expenditure reports in the next election.

As per the demand of Gen-G, the agreement stipulates that the minimum age for candidates for the House of Representatives, Provincial Assemblies and local level people's representatives should be 21 years. The law must be amended to address this issue. The agreement mentions keeping the judiciary, Constitutional Council, Constitutional Commission and Judicial Council completely free from political and partisan interference and enabling them to perform their duties autonomously and independently and ensuring the representation and participation of youth in the state structure and improving the structure and appointment process of the said commissions.