The newly elected MPs are taking oath on Chaitra 12. The next day, Balendra Shah (Balen) is becoming the Prime Minister. The first Prime Minister of Madhesi origin in the country's history. While such a symbolic change is taking place at the leadership level, the structure of the House of Representatives, the source of the government's legal power, remains the same - with the dominance of the Khas Aryas. In the new 275-member parliament, 134 MPs are from the Khas Arya community, meaning one in every two MPs is from the same community.

How did the elections held under the constitution, which is said to guarantee proportional inclusive representation, give such a result?

The answer is not found in the ballot box on Falgun 21. The Constitution of 2072 and the Election Act of 2074 are responsible for bringing about such a result. According to analysts, the current result is the result of the legal system that reduced the share of the proportional system in the interim constitution and ensured the highest seat reservation for the Khas Aryas even within the same reduced proportional system. Even though the constitution is said to make the parliament inclusive, the results of the last three elections have given an example of how the law has made that system almost ineffective.

Rights activist Dhankumari Sunar says that since the parties in the current parliament are dominated by people who promote Pahari, Khas Arya and men, it is natural for such a parliament to come about as a result of their decision. ‘The strategy and political goal of representing the oppressed community is not visible in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has now become the main party,’ she said. Before discussing how such a system was created that, despite being called inclusive on the cover, almost produces the same results as the 2047 constitution, let us see how the inevitability of proportional inclusion became necessary.

'Since the parties in the current parliament are dominated by people who promote Pahari, Khas Arya and men, it is natural that such a parliament would come about through their decision. There should be a fully proportional system to prevent the unequal representation that elections are giving now' - Dhankumari Sunar, rights activist All three elections after the restoration of democracy were based on the first-past-the-post (direct) system. The country was divided into 205 constituencies, and the candidate who got the most votes from those constituencies won. In those elections, the Khas Arya community always won more than 50 percent of the seats, although their share in the 2048 census was only about 32 percent. The most unequal result was given by the 2051 mid-term elections, when 62 percent of the MPs from Khas Arya entered Singha Durbar, exactly double the population. There was no legal obligation for inclusiveness, the parliament was basically dominated by the hilly upper caste community. The presence of indigenous people, Madhesis and women was only nominal. There was not a single Dalit. Only one Dalit was elected in three elections, Krishna Singh Pariyar from Banke in 2048, and zero in the remaining two elections.

The decade-long Maoist armed conflict turned such inequality into a weapon to use marginalized communities against the ruling power. The 2062/63 people's movement and the subsequent Madhesh movements also bound the then leadership to make political representation inclusive. As a result, the obligation to change the electoral system itself was created.

The interim constitution and the Constituent Assembly Election Act provided for a mixed electoral system (60 percent for proportional representation and the rest for a direct system where the first-past-the-post system) was provided for. In doing so, the Constituent Assembly of 2064 became a watershed in inclusive political representation in the history of Nepal. The representation of the Khas Aryas in the 601-member assembly fell from 58 percent in the previous parliament in 2056 to 33.4 percent. This was almost equal to their population (31.2 percent). The representation ratio, which was once more than double, fell to 1.07, for the first time in history. However, this was still more than the population share of the community. Dalits, indigenous peoples, women and Madhesi communities received unprecedented representation. For the first time, the country's true demographic picture was reflected in the parliament.

But this moment of equality did not last long. In the second election to the Constituent Assembly held in 2070, the parties increased the representation of the Khas Arya community to almost 42 percent. In all three processes - first-past-the-post, proportional and nominated by the Council of Ministers - the Khas Aryas were given a higher share than in 2064.

 The new constitution promulgated in 2072 reduced the proportion of proportional seats from 60 percent to 40 percent . That is, the burden of the first-past-the-post direct system reached 60 percent in the newly formed House of Representatives . Which naturally benefited the Khas Arya community, which was already dominant in politics .

The House of Representatives Election Act enacted in 2074 ensured an additional 31 percent reservation for Khas Aryas in the proportional list . Whereas earlier, there was no such clear reservation for them . Historically, this community had a majority presence from government service to politics . However, this community was protected in the proportional system by being placed within the quota of ‘disadvantaged groups’ .

As a result of these changes to the constitution and law, the representation of the Khas Arya community, which was 41.4 percent in the 2070 elections, has increased to about 44 percent in 2074, then 48 in 2079, and now to about 49 percent. Thus, a clear trend has begun to be seen with each election, with the new constitution and law gradually closing the door to inclusiveness opened by the interim constitution. The 48.7 percent Khas Arya representation given in this election is the highest among the elections since the implementation of the proportional electoral system. According to the latest national census 2078, the Khas Arya community, which constitutes only 30.1 percent of the population, has managed to occupy about half of the seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

'This happened because the constitution was tampered with in a dishonest way, making a law to reserve Khas Aryas in the proportional system and making MPs by taking money from the leaders' wives, relatives or rich people was dishonest'- Laxman Lal Karna, Constituent Assembly member Constituent Assembly member Laxman Lal Karna says that the results of the planned interference in the constitution and laws are now visible . 'This happened because the constitution was tampered with in a dishonest way,' he said . In the fundamental rights of the constitution, in addition to other marginalized communities, there is a provision for the 'economically disadvantaged Khas Aryas' to have the right to participate in state bodies based on the principle of proportional inclusion . 'They made a law to reserve Khas Aryas in the proportional system by showing the same article of the constitution,' Karna added, 'After that, they started making MPs by taking money from the leaders' wives or relatives, or rich people . This is dishonesty.'

‘In the case of women, if they are not directly elected or if they are not represented in the National Assembly, then the proportional system should be compensated,’ he said. ‘If the same system is made for other oppressed communities, then this inequality can be prevented.’ - Parashuram Tamang, Indigenous Rights Activist Indigenous rights activist Parashuram Tamang says there are two reasons for the increase in the representation of Khas Aryas. 'Although there have always been more candidates from the Khas Arya community in direct elections, this time they were in a very large number,' he said. 'They came in large numbers this time because whoever wins will win from the Khas Arya community.' Another reason pointed out by Gurung, who is also a proportional representation MP from the NCP, is related to the 'design' of the proportional representation system. Only 40 percent, or 110 seats, of the House of Representatives have been reserved for certain communities. Considering 110 seats as 100 percent, seats have been reserved for Khas Aryas, indigenous peoples, Madhesis, Dalits, Tharu and Muslim communities. Which means that if the parties ensure that participation only in that proportional representation, such a number becomes low when viewed in the 275 members of the House of Representatives. That is, even if there is low representation from the direct side, it does not have to be compensated by the proportional system. ‘In the case of women, if they are not directly elected or if they are not represented in the National Assembly, then the proportional system should be compensated,’ he said. ‘If the same system is made for other oppressed communities, then this inequality can be prevented.’