President Ram Chandra Poudel's prudent role in all aspects, including the ordinance related to the Constitutional Council, is also essential to prevent the government from being misled. It is his responsibility to support the special government formed for election purposes as much as possible. But it is also his responsibility to keep it on track when it tries to deviate from the original objective.
What you should know
The civilian government's Prime Minister Sushila Karki has also taken the initiative to further complicate the Constitutional Council meetings and decision-making process, which party prime ministers have been manipulating to establish their influence since 2077. The government, formed for the purpose of holding elections, has recommended an ordinance to pave the way for appointments to various constitutional commissions.
Decisions such as recalling the ambassador, abolishing the Land Dispute Resolution Commission and its district committee, granting income tax exemption to the Dolma Impact Fund, which brought investment to Nepal through a ‘cell company’ from the ‘tax haven country’ Mauritius, and opening import permits for ‘Euro 3’ standard vehicles, which have been banned in Nepal, have already been controversial.
It is surprising that instead of learning from the criticism, more controversial decisions are being made instead of being restrained because they have started to be interested in decisions that have nothing to do with the election and are not conducive to good governance. The meaning of the criticism of the Constitutional Council ordinance is the same - the government should focus on the election.
The Council of Ministers’ meeting on 2 November recommended an ‘Ordinance to Amend the Act on the Constitutional Council’ for the appointment of officials of constitutional bodies and ambassadors, including provisions that are against the constitution. The ordinance seeks a way to make constitutional appointments even when the council members are in the minority. Similarly, the officers appointed under the ordinance will resume their duties, but the parliamentary hearing will be held in the next parliament.
It has been said that if the parliamentary hearing committee decides not to approve the name of such an officer within 45 days of the formation of the House of Representatives, he will automatically be removed from office. The government is trying to amend the Constitutional Council Bill, saying that since the posts of Chief Commissioner and one commissioner are vacant in the Election Commission, there is a need to fill the posts there to hold elections. However, if the ordinance is issued, the government will be able to appoint 14 constitutional posts from the Election Commission to the Finance Commission. Similarly, the same government will be allowed to appoint ambassadors to 11 countries that recently recalled their ambassadors.
The kind of provision made in the ordinance is against the constitutional provisions. Article 292 of the Constitution states that a parliamentary hearing will be held before the appointment of the Chief Justice, Supreme Court judges, members of the Judicial Council, heads or officials of constitutional bodies, heads or officials of constitutional bodies, and ambassadors to the posts.
Making a provision that can be done after being appointed to a position that requires parliamentary hearing before being appointed is an attempt to interfere with or amend the constitution itself. Such a trend not only reveals the arrogance of the government, but also weakens the constitution. It was expected that Karki, who has become the Chief Justice, would protect the essence and spirit of the constitution when she becomes the Prime Minister.
This is the difference between when Gen-G proposed her as the Prime Minister and when she received public support after becoming the Prime Minister. But her activities have raised doubts. On the other hand, this ordinance was not brought forward to create an environment that would support the election, but rather to pave the way for large-scale appointments.
Playing the game of appointment-dismissal is not the job of an elected government. Moreover, such work is not done after the election date has been announced. The ordinance does not contribute not only to the election, but also to good governance. Rather, it hinders good governance.
Looking at the working style, the current government is also starting to look like a continuation of the previous government. Although the circumstances and characters are different, the working style and intention are starting to look the same. Even during the period of regular government, ordinances are considered a product of compulsion. Ordinances are brought when legal arrangements need to be made for important work.
Since the current government cannot make laws through parliament, some ordinances are also considered compulsory. Ordinances also receive support due to their justification. For example, the ‘Ordinance to Amend the Voters’ Roll Act, 2073’ was issued with the aim of increasing youth participation in the elections to be held on 21 Falgun to extend the period for compiling voter lists. It was praised at the time. There is no such situation in the ordinance related to the Constitutional Council.
Because it does not stop the work of the government. Since the government has a big and good objective, there is no public justification for issuing an ordinance. Trying to run a series of appointments in a way that public accountability cannot be established is also against the spirit of the Gen-G movement. The ordinance on the Constitutional Council further weakens the issues sought by Gen-G such as good governance, rule of law, and transparency. Prime Minister Karki should abandon his desire to move against the spirit of the movement that entrusted him with responsibility.
The image of the leaders in power who were previously in power running the government arbitrarily according to personal and party interests belongs to the leaders who were in power. They were criticized for interpreting or changing the spirit of the constitution and the wording of the law to suit themselves, causing governmental chaos. The Gen-G movement took place. The aim of the movement was not only to throw out such characters, but also to throw out the trend. But while the characters have faded, the trend seems to be moving towards Singha Durbar. The new government formed by Gen-G is adopting the old trend. This is a sad situation.
Therefore, the government itself should apologize for the issues being criticized and express a commitment not to repeat its weaknesses. Similarly, in order not to mislead the government, the prudent role of President Ram Chandra Poudel is also essential in all aspects, including the ordinance on the Constitutional Council. It is his responsibility to support the special government formed for electoral purposes as much as possible. But it is also his responsibility to keep it on track when it tries to deviate from the original objective. He is expected to play a supportive and monitoring role.
