Party leaders have said that the parliament formed after the elections should work on the agenda of amending the constitution, formulating laws related to state machinery and political party reforms, and controlling corruption and good governance.

In a conversation with Kantipur Editor-in-Chief Umesh Chauhan in the final session of the Kantipur Conclave on ‘Policy, Leaders and Leadership’, party leaders said that the changes brought by the Gen-G movement should be committed to the people after the elections.

Congress General Secretary Pradeep Poudel, UML Deputy General Secretary Yogesh Bhattarai and former Minister Sumana Shrestha have said that the political parties should focus on system and constitutional reforms.

General Secretary Poudel said that the Congress is ready to correct its mistakes and go to the people along with the Gen-G movement. He said that the party will change the party according to the demands of the citizens and stand for corruption control, good governance, an end to excessive politicization in the state machinery and civil liberties.

‘There is no situation where big old parties can contest elections together. That was a situation where the boundaries of democracy were narrowed. It was a situation where one person remained in leadership for a long time. We have made it a point to end it through practice and statute,' he said, 'After taking the oath twice, the same person will not be allowed to take the oath as Prime Minister for the third time, we have clearly written it in the statute.' 

Mentioning that the statute has a provision for absolving a party leader of responsibility if he is prosecuted, he said that constitutional institutions should be impartial and free from politics in relation to corruption. Since 2048, a lot of work has been done in the country in areas including development, but when the question of good governance arises, those progress issues have been overshadowed.

UML Deputy Secretary General Bhattarai said that the commitment to work on reforms in the political party act to amending the constitution should be written in the election manifesto. He said that the law is necessary because the party statute that regulates political parties is tampered with by leaders and factions.

‘In the political party act, we should generally make provision for the transfer of leadership in two terms and how many times ministers, MPs and party executives can hold office,’ Bhattarai said, ‘Some things in the constitution should be amended. By amending the constitution, we should directly elect the chiefs and deputy chiefs of the local levels as well as the chiefs of the provinces. That will bring stability to the provinces. The parliamentary system at the center is fine.’ 

He said that if the work of amending the constitution had been taken forward as per the second point of the 7-point agreement when the UML and the Congress formed a coalition government, there would have been no Gen-G movement. ‘If that had been done, politics would have gone in a positive direction. The commitment to amend the constitution and laws to make provisions for voting abroad and outside the district should be written in the manifesto for the upcoming elections,’ he said.

Although Nepal’s constitution is better than that of the contemporary countries of the world, Bhattarai said that there are problems in its implementation. ‘We have made a good constitution in today’s contemporary world. We have brought a good democratic system. Today, there has been anger at the public level because the constitution and system have not been implemented properly,’ he said.

Former Minister Shrestha said that a law should be made to prevent the first and second largest parties in parliament from forming a government. "Now, the first and second parties should not form a government together. Even though they are parties with similar views, when the first and second largest parties in parliament formed the government, the opposition became weak, and the road was also weakened," she said.

UML Deputy Secretary General Bhattarai said that natural leadership of political parties should be sought. He believed that seeking magical leadership would create additional risks in the country. "Currently, hypnotic leadership is being sought, the kind that casts spells," he said, "but participatory leadership should be sought. Leaders should participate, work in team spirit. Give their point of view. Listen to the people, listen to criticism, respond to it, and transform themselves."

General Secretary Poudel said that the right of citizens to vote on political agendas should be ensured through the practices and systems of political parties. He said that the pre-election alliance has narrowed the democratic right to vote. "Our priority is only power, as it happens, to reach power," he said, "Reaching power does not have a positive impact on the citizens, what we deliver after reaching power will have an impact." He said that in the absence of a majority in the election, an alliance can be formed based on ideas, agendas and programs to form a government, but an alliance before the election is not right.

Former Minister Sumana Shrestha says that we should be free from the belief that politics cannot function without a party in Nepal. She said that the situation of staying in politics for life and doing anything for a position should be ended. "Once a person enters politics, shouldn't he leave? If you establish this belief, you establish a leader for life, who will do anything," she said, "There should be no system of imposing party whips. MPs should be allowed to use their discretion. They should be people's representatives, not party representatives." 

She said that MPs should end the situation of having to accept the whips of the party president and chief whip and work according to the people's votes. Stating that the people need change and good governance, she said that they should keep asking questions for that. 

In the context of the social debate in Nepal and the weaknesses of social media playing a role in it, Shrestha said that education on these issues is necessary. She opined that social media has reduced election expenses, but the spread of misinformation is increasing. She said that education on the use of social media should be provided to children and parents.