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Voting for the general elections to the seats of direct elections to parliament and provincial assemblies in Nepal will be held on November 20. On that day, votes will be cast on 165 direct elections to the lower house of parliament and 330 seats in the seven provincial assemblies.
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The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), which is struggling to become the third largest party in the next general election, has promised to change the country's governance system. This promise of the party included in the election manifesto is completely different from the stand of other parties. Therefore, the question has been raised in political circles that when the Maoist Center will fulfill this promise in the midst of its weak presence in Parliament?
The Maoist Center has promised that it will implement a presidential system of government in the country and the election of parliament will be conducted by a completely proportional vote system. At present, Nepal has a parliamentary system, in which elections are conducted by a combination of both direct and proportional systems.
Voting for the general elections to the seats of direct elections to parliament and provincial assemblies in Nepal will be held on November 20. On that day, votes will be cast on 165 direct elections to the lower house of parliament and 330 seats in the seven provincial assemblies. The Maoist Center is contesting this election as part of a coalition led by the Nepali Congress.
The Nepali Congress is in favor of retaining the current electoral system. This is also the stand of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) led by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The general estimate is that in this election, Nepali Congress will be first and UML will be second. That is why the promise of changing the electoral system of the Maoist Center is being considered as a mere election gimmick.
But supporters of the Maoist Center say that this party has always been of the view that the President should be elected through direct election in the country. Even when the new constitution, which came into force in 2015, was being framed, the party had given its opinion. When the majority became in favor of adopting the parliamentary system, it submitted a letter of dissent to the Constituent Assembly.
The Maoist Center says that at that time it had agreed to the parliamentary system, but the experience of the past seven years has forced it to change its stand. It has been proved over the years that a presidential system of government is essential for political stability, peace and prosperity.
Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai-led Nepal Samajwadi Party has fielded in this election on the symbol of Maoist Centre. It has supported the Maoist Center's demand for the direct election of the President. The Nepal Samajwadi Party released its election manifesto last week, promising to change the system of governance.
Another major party of Nepal- Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) has not clarified its stand on this issue. The Unified Socialist is also part of the ruling coalition. Although it has not said anything in its manifesto about the presidential system of governance, it has promised reforms in the electoral system to prevent the increasing control of money over elections.
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