Wheel in motion

Now that the Constituent Assembly’s speaker formally asked the parties to elect a prime minister on 10 February, we will tick off one more target that the November elections set out to achieve. Of the potential hopefuls, Nepali Congress president and parliamentary party leader Sushil Koirala is the only one to file candidacy. The NC started negotiations with the 30 parties inside the CA and half of them have agreed in principle to a Congress-led government.

On Tuesday, the UML also voted KP Oli as its parliamentary party leader. While his victory marks a visible change within the party ranks, it could invite future conflicts with Chairman Jhal Nath Khanal and his faction. Already Oli has asked the NC to come up with a proposal for power sharing or heed to the UML’s demands.

Although the parties’ main task is to write a constitution, there are other matters that warrant attention. A recent survey placed Nepal at the bottom of heap in the world and South Asian rankings on the freedom to do business. The report highlights endemic corruption in governance, judiciary, and police as the reasons behind our poor ranking. Most of our economic challenges are a direct result of our own incompetence and we need to address them now.

Justice for war crimes will also play an important role during power-sharing discussions in the voting of a new prime minister next week. But conflict victims are worried that like previous governments, the new one too will try to sweep conflict-era atrocities under the carpet.