It is not surprising in the context of past experience that Nepal’s Constituent Assembly has missed the deadline again for drafting a new Constitution. It is obvious that the main Maoist party and its allies are all out to subvert attempts to write a Constitution expeditiously. They want a federal structure based on ethnicity and also a consensus among the parties, not just a vote. The Maoist want 12 provinces based on ethnicity but the government will have none of it. Nepal has as many as 125 ethnic groups. A federal structure based on ethnicity can create only a fractured polity. Of course, the new Constitution should take in the aspirations of all ethnic groups but not on a divisive basis. At present the demand is for just a dozen provinces. But the number may go on multiplying impairing the political and cultural unity of the country.
The ruling coalition is made up of the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). They have to block all efforts of the Maoists to create disunity. A new deadline has to be set for drafting and pushing the Constitution through. If the Maoists prove obstructionist, the government should get the Constitution approved in Parliament by vote. The first Constituent Assembly with a Maoist majority came a cropper in this regard. In the last elections, the Maoists were signally defeated. It is not surprising that they will thwart adoption of a new Constitution. According to the deal about government formation, the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal will continue to be in office. But if Constitution making runs into repeated hurdles, they may fall apart and the political crisis in Nepal will continue.
