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The CPN-UML Standing Committee’s June 30 decision to revive the party’s central committee that existed before the 16 May 2018 merger with CPN (Maoist Center) is a welcome step. ApEx has always advocated for intra-party cohesion in Nepal’s main democratic forces, and if the two factions of the UML could someone reunite, it would be wonderful news. Nepali polity is best served by having two or three strong political forces that fight along ideological lines; purely personal ambition-driven politics has done much to corrupt Nepali politics over the years. 

Yet the June 30 decision may not be enough to interest disgruntled senior UML leaders like Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khala who are not ready to trust Prime Minister and UML Chairman KP Oli easily again. They think this is just another ploy of PM Oli to prolong his tenure. If the Supreme Court rules in Oli’s favor again, they think he will not think twice about ditching them again. 

Hence the onus is on Oli to prove he is ready to accommodate the concerns of the rival faction. Chief among these is their old gripe that Oli seldom consults them on important matters, for instance in his decision to bring in a faction of the JSPN into the federal government or in his appointment in vital constitutional organs. They would also like to see Oli share more power with them, both in the party as well as in the government. 

Again, going into the next elections, ideally, Nepal should have no more than three or four main political actors who are vigorously competing for votes. Having such strong actors will help consolidate the main agendas and prevent the country from slipping back into the kind of dirty horse-trading that characterized the post-1990 national politics. In fact, the new constitution has specific provisions to protect against such an outcome. But constitutional provisions are only as good as those implementing them. We hope the prime minister has this time acted in good faith and he is serious about consolidating his party and thereby the national polity. 

As we near the business end of the Euro Cup and Copa America football tournaments, it is worth taking stock of our own men’s national team. As our interview this week with the most decorated Nepali footballer Biraj Maharjan, who has just retired from international football, suggests, there is room for optimism.

Only this May, Nepal won the Three Nations Cup it hosted. Then, to add to the excitement, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Mutairi, a pro-licensed FIFA coach, was appointed the national team’s head coach. The team exceeded expectations at the recent World Cup qualifiers, even beating Chinese Taipei 2-0, which in turn helped Nepal make it to the next round of Asian Cup qualifiers.

One of the big disadvantages of Nepali players when playing stronger international opponents over the years has been their poor fitness. They didn’t eat the right diet, nor was their physical training up to international standards. Thankfully, things are changing. The national team as well as all top-tier Nepali clubs these days have trained dieticians and physical-training experts in their ranks to boost player fitness. Learning from the fitness regimens of international football stars, the Nepali players themselves have realized the importance of cardio and weight training. We can thus expect the team to only get fitter with time.

The new FIFA-certified coach will also enhance the tactical side of the national side’s game. As the players have themselves said, the start this year of the Nepal Super League, a franchise-based club tournament, will enhance their professionalism and make them more used to playing against quality international players. Such tournaments with corporate sponsors will also make them financially independent, allowing them to completely focus on football.

At last, the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), the country’s football governing body, seems to have realized the importance of having a long-term vision. As discussed above, its new focus is on the seemingly small things that will collectively make a big difference a decade down the road. But it has to keep at it. Hopefully, in a generation, Nepalis will get to see their national team compete at the highest levels abroad, in Asia if not in the world.  

We have been there, done that. Confusion again reigns all around as the country continues to reel under an acute vaccine shortage, and the prohibitory orders are being lifted in various parts of the country, including Kathmandu Valley.

Less than three percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. For those who have gotten only their first dose, or around a tenth of the population, there is no guarantee of a second. The procurement process for more vaccines, we hear, has long been underway. Yet as of this writing, it is unclear where the next shipment is coming from. Instead, some disturbing news on vaccine delivery has emerged. Many elderly folks have been turned away from vaccine centers that supposedly ran out of jabs. But then there are also reports of expired vaccines being thrown away. These vaccines had reportedly been set aside for VVIPs but many of them didn’t show up on time.

Separately, the recent vaccination drive in Kathmandu with the China-made Vero Cell had to be interrupted when ministers, bureaucrats, and even high-profile journalists started sending their kith and kin for jabs, usurping the right of those in the 60-64 age group to get their first shot. The drive has resumed, but it is cold comfort for the 1.5 million folks whose second dose of Covishield is long overdue. Experts have repeatedly pointed that only mass vaccination will help the country emerge from the corona contagion; the various restrictive measures will, at best, only slow down the rate of infection.

The Oli government has badly bungled the vaccination drive from the start. Now the country is reliant on the goodwill of the international community to provide it with enough vaccines, mostly through the WHO’s COVAX initiative. The initiative has promised around 350,000 vaccine doses by the end of July. That is nearly not enough. The restrictive measures are being eased but without enough vaccines to inoculate the vast majority of the population, it will only be a matter of time before they return. And it could be much worse the next time.

The controversy over the composition of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench has made a mockery of the judicial process. It has also raised fears that the hallowed democratic principle of separation of powers has been trampled upon. First, by ignoring the criteria of seniority, Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana made a blunder while choosing the five-person bench, the all-important authority to interpret the national charter. 

The plaintiff lawyers arguing against Prime Minister KP Oli’s decision to dissolve the House and call for a fresh election raised a fuss. Chief Justice Rana relented and reconstituted the bench on a seniority basis. Now, it was the turn of the lawyers defending the prime minister to object, as they accused the two new judges on the bench of being biased against the Oli government. Weeks of precious time that could have been spent debating an urgent issue of national interest were wasted. 

Compared to their low faith in the executive or the legislative, the public faith in the judiciary is much higher. Yet this trust is eroding. Judicial appointments are being made mostly along party lines. Senior judges often court controversy. Political leaders in positions of power often speak openly on sub judice cases—and get away with it. And now, there is the controversy over the judges’ impartiality as they sit to interpret the constitution. 

How can the public trust their interpretation? Ideally, we should have judges such as former Chief Justice Sushila Karki who simply refused to entertain any political meddling in the judiciary. She maintained a safe distance from political actors and interest groups. Her character was so clean that those who wanted to influence her to rule a certain way did not even bother to try. As a result, the decisions of her court were mostly beyond reproach. And that is how it should be. 

As the Constitutional Bench presides over this important case, the judges have a wonderful opportunity to restore public faith in the judiciary. For this, it is vital that the judges not be seen as being swayed by pressure groups and strictly rely on their conscience to interpret the constitution. People are waiting with bated breath.