Nepal parties reach constitution deal after quake

Nepal’s rival political parties, spurred by a devastating earthquake to end years of deadlock, have struck a historic deal on a new constitution that will divide the country into eight provinces.

The deal was announced after negotiations that went late into Monday night and comes weeks after an earthquake that killed thousands, piling pressure on politicians to end the long stalemate.

Lawmakers have missed a series of deadlines to draft a new national charter following a decade-long Maoist insurgency that left an estimated 16,000 people dead and brought down the monarchy.

The resulting uncertainty left Nepal — one of the world’s poorest countries — in a state of political limbo for almost a decade after the end of the civil war in 2006.

Information Minister Minendra Rijal said the April 25 disaster, which killed more than 8,700 people and destroyed nearly half a million houses, had motivated rival parties to work together.

“There is a will to get this done,” said Rijal, calling the agreement a “major breakthrough”.

The Maoists have long pressed for greater devolution of powers away from Nepal’s capital, and the agreement paves the way for a federal structure.

However the deal leaves the crucial issue of the provincial borders unresolved — an omission which critics said would create future problems.

“This is an incomplete deal, it’s an agreement which postpones the crucial question entirely,” said Prashant Jha, a Nepali journalist and author.

“Political parties have abdicated their responsibility by not hammering out a deal on internal borders.

“The constitution that emerges will be a deeply divisive and contested document from day one,” he said.

The opposition Maoist party had been pushing for new provinces to be created along lines that could favour historically marginalised communities, but other parties said this would be divisive and a threat to national unity.

“We took a bold decision, not everything on the agreement matches our agendas,” said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, a senior Maoist leader.

Under the deal, Nepal will continue with its current system of national governance which includes an executive prime minister and ceremonial president.

A new federal commission will be tasked with drawing up internal borders and submit a proposal for approval in parliament.

Lawmakers said a draft of the final constitution, which must be approved by a two-thirds parliamentary majority, would be ready in July.

Work on the charter — intended to conclude a peace process begun in 2006 when the Maoists entered politics — began after a 2008 election won by the former rebels.

But political infighting confounded efforts to hammer out a deal, throwing parliament into disarray and crippling the economy.

Newspaper editor Guna Raj Luitel said the April 25 earthquake appeared to have added impetus to the process.

“Everyone was fed up with the parties, people thought the constitution will never come because they couldn’t agree on anything,” said Luitel, editor-in-chief of the Nagarik daily.

“After the first quake, things changed. Parties seem to have realised that they need to work together to rebuild the country.

source : gulfnews