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The Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu was without its ambassador after Hou Yanqi’s departure in October last year. In this period, Nepal held the elections to federal parliament and provincial assemblies, there was a breakdown in the Nepali Congress-led five-party electoral alliance, and the Maoist-UML coalition government was formed in Kathmandu. Amid all these developments, Wang Xin, charge d’affaires at the embassy, tried his best to give the message that the Chinese mission was functioning as usual, despite the absence of an ambassador. Wang, in the capacity of the deputy chief of mission, continued to meet Nepali leaders, and even stirred controversy over the newly inaugurated Pokhara Regional International Airport by claiming that it was part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Now, China has finally sent its ambassador. Chen Song landed in Kathmandu on Sunday, and immediately after his arrival he delivered a statement highlighting his priorities as the new ambassador. “It has been a privilege and a great honor for me to serve as the 22th Chinese Ambassador to Nepal,” said Chen.  “I, together with my colleagues in the embassy, stand ready to work with Nepali friends from all walks of life to unleash the full-potential of China-Nepal cooperation, and elevate the bilateral relation to a new height.” It is rare for a newly appointed Chinese ambassador to engage with the media. He delivered a long speech on bilateral relations even before presenting his credentials to President Bidya Devi Bhandari. It hints that the new ambassador will be shunning the traditional approach of quiet diplomacy. In fact, this change in diplomacy tack by China is reflected everywhere. Ambassador Chen also spoke about “strategic cooperation”, the term that was also uttered by President Xi Jinping during his 2019 Kathmandu trip. It’s clear that the new ambassador is here to do Xi’s bidding. Implementation of the agreements between China and Nepal during Xi’s visit remains a top priority for China. “As the new ambassador to Nepal, I am deeply aware of the glorious mission and great responsibility,” said Chen. “I will follow the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and Nepali leaders, stay devoted and dedicated to outline their freehand brushwork of bilateral relations into a meticulous painting.” The ambassador stopped short of mentioning the Global Security Initiative(GSI), Beijing’s latest vision for world order, which has drawn criticism in Kathmandu. He did, however, talk about the BRI, and the Global Development Initiative, which many see as part of the GSI. “In recent years, under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, China-Nepal practical cooperation in various fields has been improved both in quality and efficiency, and the trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network has gradually taken shape,” said Chen.  This only means that Nepal is likely to see more of the BRI and GDI discourses in the coming days. The new ambassador also mentioned about the political changes that happened in both countries over the past couple of months. “In the face of new situations, new opportunities and new challenges, China will, as always, firmly support Nepal in safeguarding state sovereignty and national dignity by exploring a development path suited to its national conditions, and pursuing independent domestic and foreign policies,” he said. Upendra Gautam, vice-chairman of China Study Center, said the arrival of the new ambassador does not make any policy changes in the bilateral relations, but there could be some changes in the style and operation. “The key challenge for the new ambassador will be to navigate the complex and dynamic political situation in Nepal, which often keeps changing,” he said.  Nonetheless, Beijing is upbeat with the formation of the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in Kathmandu. As the US and China are competing for primacy in South Asia, it helps Beijing to have a communist party-led government in Kathmandu to push its strategic interests. Of late, China is adopting an aggressive approach in Kathmandu, which has historically been close to its regional rival, India. And with the US, too, weighing in with its own set of interests in South Asia, the Xi administration is desperate to wrest control of the region. The latest example of Beijing showing its desperation was its attempt to link Pokhara airport with the BRI. Before that, the emerging supower had strongly opposed America’s Millennium Challenge Corporation Nepal Compact. During the previous government, led by Sher Bahdur Deuba of the Nepali Congress, China had also expressed displeasure over numerous issues including the border dispute and Western activities related to the exiled Tibetan community. Chandra Dev Bhatta, geopolitical analyst, said there was a whiff of desperation in the way the newly appointed Chinese ambassador presented himself after landing in Kathmandu. “Of course, Nepal-China relations are not built in a day but time has come to make it more pragmatic rather than trying to become loud and populist,” he said.  

Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House of Representatives, is in opposition, while the CPN (Maoist Center), with just 32 seats, is leading the government with the backing of the second-placed CPN-UML and few other parties. But before the first parliamentary session has even convened, strange maneuvers in the formation of a new coalition have been observed. All of the major and minor parties are participating in the process, as the Nov 20 election has produced a hung parliament—any party can form a government by securing a majority. Twelve parties are represented in parliament. While some are new, a majority have been active in parliamentary politics for decades. They all have one thing in common: a desire for state power. Among the new parties, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has already joined the government, while the Nagarik Unmukti Party and Janamat Party are working to get a place in the government. It is clear that the new term of the HoR will be unstable, as parties are likely to be more focused on consolidation of power. Already, there are fears that parliament will be held hostage by the parties. Meanwhile, the Federal Parliament Secretariat is facing challenges in managing the increasing number of parties in parliament. It must allocate office spaces for all the parties, and arrange drivers and other facilities for their chief whips. “We have already arranged office spaces for all the parties,” a senior official of the secretariat said. “Our team is now working to arrange vehicles and other facilities. For this, we are awaiting approval from the Finance Ministry.” Mockery of a two-thirds majority The erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP) held a near two-thirds majority in the 2017 parliament. Then, the public had high expectations from the government. However, internal conflicts led to the party’s split. The KP Sharma Oli-led government dissolved parliament twice. The previous parliament completed its five-year term amid numerous challenges and turbulence. The NCP ultimately split into three parties. Two Madhes-based forces, Sanghiya Samajbadi Party and the Rastriya Janata Party, also united before later splitting into three parties. This was due to leaders prioritizing their own power over the functioning of parliament. As a result, the previous parliament sat to fulfill its responsibilities for only 334 days over the course of five years. Neither the government nor lawmakers paid sufficient attention to the formation of crucial laws, leading to 27 registered bills becoming inactive. Indifference to drafting laws The new parliament has the important responsibility of endorsing bills related to the implementation of the constitution. The Nepal Citizenship Act (Amendment) Bill has remained inactive after the President decided not to authenticate it. In the lack of this amendment, thousands of children of naturalized citizens have been denied citizenship. The failure to endorse the Civil Service Bill has also made it difficult for the government to manage its civil servants, as it has been unable to assign staff to local units without this crucial law. The government withdrew the bill after it was unable to reach a consensus on it during discussions at the State Affairs Committee of Parliament. The 2017 parliament endorsed 101 bills during its 11 sessions. Of those sessions, three of the lower House and three of the National Assembly did not see the endorsement of any bills. In a hung parliament, lawmakers often pay little attention to bills registered by the government, because they are more focused on forming a government than on formulating laws. With many parties but no majority, it is possible that parliamentarians will act in accordance with the interests of certain groups. The government, therefore, has to make a great effort to secure the necessary majority to pass a bill. The government also prioritizes maintaining its majority rather than passing laws. In the previous HoR, 52 proposals of public importance were registered, but only 10 of them were discussed. There were also 23 resolution motions, 16 attention motions, and one adjournment motion registered, but very few were actually brought up for discussion. Ordinance rule As per Article 114 of the Constitution of Nepal, the government can bring laws through ordinances if a house session is not under way. However, the past five years saw the government issuing 53 ordinances. These ordinances amended important laws such as those related to party splits, oaths, and the duties of the Constitutional Council. The main duty of the parliament is to formulate and revise laws, but every government has tried to bypass it and bring laws through ordinances instead. It is important for the new parliament and their members to discourage such actions and ensure that ordinances are only used in exceptional circumstances. “The government has the authority to bring ordinances, but they have been widely misused in our country,” says constitution expert and former lawmaker Ram Narayan Bidari. “Ordinances should only be brought in exceptional situations.” Q&A sessions on the back burner Question-and-answer sessions with the prime minister and ministers were introduced to make parliamentary sessions more interactive. They were effective initially, but were later overshadowed as the prime minister and other ministers found ways to avoid these sessions. Former lawmaker Krishna Bhakta Pokharel says lawmakers should be able to ask ministers about the problems faced by the public. “The government should accept the responsibility of answering the questions in parliament,” he said. Stalled impeachment motion An impeachment motion was filed in parliament against then Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana for violating official conduct and dignity, leading to his automatic suspension. However, the previous parliament failed to make a decision in time. An impeachment motion against  Rana remains in limbo. After the new parliament was elected, Rana submitted a petition to the secretariat arguing that the impeachment motion had become ineffective. General Secretary of Parliament Bharat Gautam also issued a letter stating that the impeachment was ineffective. Rana attempted to assume office on the basis of this letter, but was prevented from doing so. Before any decision could be made on the motion, Rana retired. As the case is still under consideration, the government has been unable to appoint a new Chief Justice.

The Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower, Nepal’s largest hydroelectric project, came into commercial operation in August 2021. But the power of the 456MW Hydroelectric project has not been supplied to Kathmandu valley, the largest power consumption center of the country, as the planned Tamakoshi–Kathmandu 220/400 kV Transmission Line Project is yet to be completed. The preparations for the development of the transmission line project started in 2012 and its construction commenced in 2016. In 2020, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) terminated the contract with a Chinese joint venture of Guangxi Transmission and Substation Construction Company and Shenzhen Clou Electronics citing the slow pace of work on the project which was supposed to be completed by May 2019. Through a bidding process, the project development contract was handed over to an Indian company Larsen and Toubro Limited, India. “The contractor has completed most of the works but the project remains incomplete as local residents at Bojhani area of Shankarapur Municipality-3, Kathmandu, have been obstructing construction of a substation there”, said Tara Prasad Pradhan, Deputy Managing Director of NEA. “All the project area residents whose lands have been acquired by the project have already received compensation willingly. But a group of locals has been protesting against the construction of a power substation there which was planned long ago,” he added. In the last couple of days, the locals have been protesting against the planned substation arguing that NEA acquired their lands without consultations. Surya Bahadur Tamang, Chairperson of Ward-3, Shankarapur, himself has been leading the protest. The government has mobilized police to protect the acquired lands and the equipment of the contractor. “We don’t know who instigated the protests against the construction of the substation. Maybe there are political actors who have promised to shift the location of the substation somewhere else,” said Pradhan. “It is a very important transmission line to bring power from the Upper Tamakoshi project to Kathmandu. We are now sending power from Upper Tamakoshi to Dhalkebar though the original plan was to bring the power directly to Kathmandu,” said Pradhan. NEA has prepared a master plan for developing transmission infrastructure for Kathmandu valley considering the electricity demand as late as 2050. As per the plan, there will be a power demand of 3,100 MW by 2050 but the current infrastructure is only able to sustain the power demand of 500 MW. According to Pradhan, no single transmission line has been connected to the power distribution center of the capital valley with a capacity of 400kV or more till now. The Tamakoshi-Kathmandu Transmission Line will be the only power line with a 400kV capacity that can carry more power than existing ones. He said that the Indian contractor now just needs to complete the construction of the proposed substation at Bojhani and four transmission towers at the Lapsiphedi area of Kathmandu. "Unfortunately, the construction of all these very important power transmission infrastructures has been halted due to protests from the locals of the project areas," he said. However, the Tamakoshi-Kathmandu Transmission Line is not the only transmission line project that is facing obstruction during construction. NEA officials say hardly any transmission line project has been constructed without obstruction either from the locals or the other government entities such as forest authorities. Prolonged delay in verdicts by the court has also resulted in cost and time overruns in many transmission projects. For example, the under-construction 220kV Bharatpur-Bardaghat Transmission Line Project has not been completed as the locals of Dumikas, Nawalparasi have been obstructing the construction of two transmission towers in the area. NEA said it has already installed 244 of the 246 towers of the 74-km transmission line, but due to obstruction to the installation of two towers, it has not been able to transmit power at 220kv capacity. The existing 132kv Bharatpur-Bardaghat transmission line can only carry a maximum of 80MW of power and it has been difficult for the NEA to send more power without a higher capacity power line. The power utility says developing high-capacity power lines across Nepal is vital to ensuring a reliable power supply across the country and to ensure a reliable cross-border power trade. NEA officials say that locals have been obstructing the installation of the two towers with their unreasonable demands. As per compensation rules, NEA provides compensation of 20 percent of the value of the land that falls within 15 meters on either side of a transmission line. But locals of Dumkibas are demanding compensation for the land falling within 50 meters on either side. The project’s work was stalled for over a year after the Supreme Court in April 2021 issued an interim order to stop work on the two last towers. But on June 27 last year, the court vacated the interim order paving the way for the project to resume the erection of the transmission towers. “Despite the court order, the locals have been obstructing the transmission projects and we have not been able to work on the project implementation,” said an NEA official. The 400 kV Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa transmission project also faced prolonged delay. On January 30, 2019, Sarita Giri, a former minister, filed a petition at the Supreme Court demanding a change in the route of the transmission line in the Padariya area of Lahan Municipality and the court issued an interim order accordingly. It took more than three years for the Supreme Court to take a decision on the matter as the court in early June last year vacated the interim order opening the door for continuing the construction work on the project. The NEA official said that it is preparing to resume work on the project. The 220kV Bharatpur-Bardaghat transmission line project and 400kV Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa are part of the World Bank-funded Nepal-India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project. The World Bank discontinued its funding in November 2021 for the two transmission lines, citing continued delay despite repeated deadline extensions. Before it withdrew funding, the multilateral lender had extended the deadline several times. Obstructions from locals and legal cases against the project led to continued delays. The 132kV double-circuit Solu Corridor Transmission Line is another example of how transmission projects face massive hurdles in Nepal. It came into operation only in December 2021 after years of delays. Obstruction of locals of Katari, Udayapur had delayed construction works of the project. Likewise, the 132kV Singati-Lamosangu Transmission Line also faced hurdles from locals but has now been completed in June 2021 after 11 years. NEA officials accept the low compensation prices of lands as a reason behind the discontent of residents of the project affected areas. “As the compensation is not fully provided for the land that falls under the transmission line, land owners don’t want to lose their lands to the transmission projects,” said the NEA official. “ We don’t provide full compensation for such lands as we don’t acquire them. But the value of lands over which the transmission lines pass through dips as they are not accepted as collateral in the banks.”

Sher Bahadur Deuba has not uttered a single word in public after his former coalition partner Pushpa Kamal Dahal, of CPN (Maoist Center), sidelined the Nepali Congress to the opposition in a rather humiliating fashion. Despite winning the largest number of seats in the Nov 20 parliamentary election, the NC failed to be in the government, because Deuba botched the power-sharing talks with the Maoists. He refused to leave the prime minister’s office to Dahal, and the latter went ahead and joined forces with the CPN-UML to form a coalition government. The Maoist-UML coalition has also caused the NC to lose its primacy in provinces.  Deuba has explained what to do to his party leaders for driving out Dahal and squandering the electoral victory. The NC has called a meeting of its Central Working Committee on Jan 12, where Deuba is expected to face tough questions and criticism. In the meantime, the NC president is busy working to temper the blows, perhaps even plotting a return to power. On Wednesday, he instructed his close confidant and party spokesperson, Prakash Sharan Mahat, to hold a press conference and make some remarks about the latest political scenario. Mahat predicted that the government under Prime Minister Dahal would not last long, given the contradictory ideologies and interests among the coalition partners. True, this coalition is shaky, and Dahal has yet to win the confidence vote. Is Deuba trying to snag an opportunity here, or is he just trying to assuage the anger among the party leaders and supporters? The answer could be both.  As Deuba is currently busy consulting with his core team on how to deal with the imminent intra-party dispute over the post-election fiasco, some leaders have advised him to take steps to break the Maoist-UML coalition.  Within the Deuba camp, some leaders reckon a power-sharing deal could still be worked out with Dahal. They have suggested that the NC can agree to back Dahal’s premiership for a full five-year term and get the presidential post in return.  However, a leader close to Deuba said the party president has not said anything about it.  Another leader from the Deuba camp said if the party president gives his go-ahead, they are ready to convey the message to Dahal.  However, Nain Singh Mahar, NC central working committee member, said that the ship has already sailed and that the party should contend with remaining in the opposition.  “Some leaders want to break the current ruling coalition, but I don’t think their attempts will yield any result.”  Political analyst Puranjan Acharya said as NC is in a defensive mode, Deuba could agree to offer whatever Dahal wants.  “Deuba could even try to enter a power-sharing deal with the UML,” he said. “But we must bear in mind that Deuba has become weak in terms of both health and power and his team is not capable of dealing with the Maoist and other parties.”  Ramesh Rijal, a leader close to Deuba, said while he believes that the Maoist-UML coalition is unsustainable, the NC is not in a race to dismantle it.  Maoist leader Haribol Gajurel said the first priority of Prime Minister Dahal is to secure a vote of confidence from the Parliament.  “Obviously, there are internal and external efforts to break this coalition, but I do not see such a possibility in the immediate future,” he said.  Under the power-sharing agreement, Gajurel said, the UML will get the president while the tenure of speaker will be divided into two terms between the UML and the Maoists.  “The fate of this government will depend on its delivery,” he added. “Both parties have learned a lesson after the breakup of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). So, there is a pressure on the leadership not to repeat the same mistake.”