The process of forming a new govern­ment is almost complete. Prime Minis­ter KP Sharma Oli has come across as someone very thoughtful about selecting his ministers. Newly-appointed ministers like Pradeep Gyawali, Yubaraj Khatiwada, Rabin­dra Adhikari, Lalbabu Pandit and Gokarna Bista are promising entrants to the cabinet. There are many reasons to be hopeful, albeit cautiously, about this government. But we citizens must not forget that it is also our responsibility to ensure that the government keeps moving in the right direction.Reasons for hope

 

A stable and all-powerful government has been the dream of the last three generations of Nepalis. Now we are as close to that dream as we have ever been. The likely participation of Madhes-based political parties in the Oli government has further fortified the dream of stability. With three quarters of the parliament in support of Oli, he has become the most powerful prime minister in Nepal’s democratic history. This provides Oli and his government an unprecedented opportunity to deliver on past promises.

 

In many ways, we can say this government is more powerful than the constitution. It can rectify constitutional weaknesses and work towards safeguarding and institutionalizing the statute. While this government has the ability to revise the constitution, this is not necessarily a cause for alarm, just a matter requiring greater vigilance. Rather than dis­mantling the constitution, it could well be the case that this government will work to imple­ment and strengthen it. For the time being, we have to give this government the benefit of the doubt.

 

Reminder to the left

 

Nepal’s left alliance has secured the political authority that it could never have achieved violently. The political capital, which was impossible to garner during the decade-long Maoist conflict and the two CA terms, has the potential to be finally unleashed through the alliance of the UML and CPN MC formed in the run up to the general and provincial elections last year. In a sense, it feels like the coun­try wasted many years. If after a decade of violent war and another decade of transition, the Maoists were going to merge with the UML, it makes sense to question the very purpose of the past two decades. But perhaps such a painful process was necessary to get to where we are today. And now both the UML and the Maoists have an opportunity to deliver on their decades-long dreams of prosperity and equity.

 

Price of impunity

 

Impunity is becoming institutionalized in Nepal in large part due to the concessions that were made in the name of the transition. The justice system is biased, selective and politically influenced, and little has been done to curb the rot. After the peace process started, the cases of impunity during the pre- and post-conflict eras were also completely sidelined in the fear that addressing them may derail the process. There was a strong argument that raising the issue of impunity will cost the peace process high. Because of the fear of fresh conflict, civil society groups and the international community maintained studied silence on the topic of impunity. In a way, the earlier governments bought peace with impunity. With the official end of the ‘transition’, it is now time for Nepal to get back on the path of due process and the rule of law.

 

While the benefit of the doubt must be given to this government, there is still the danger that it may push the argument of development in exchange for continued and perhaps great­er impunity than before. This is the greatest challenge facing us now. The Nepali people’s desperation for ‘development’ is at its peak and so the challenge lies in not allowing the development discourse to subvert due pro­cess. And this is why a strong, vibrant, regen­erated and largely new civil space is necessary and must be created.