Ten political parties, including the CPN (Maoist Center), have accused the Election Commission of attempting to institutionalize the dominance of two parties (Nepali Congress and CPN-UML) through the Political Party Self-evaluation Procedure.
Issuing a joint statement on Thursday, 10 political parties—Maoist Center, Rastriya Swatantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal, Janata Samajwadi Party, Janamat Party, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nagarik Unmukti Party, and Aam Janata Party—opposed the self-evaluation procedure introduced by the Election Commission.
The Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have also expressed disagreement over the procedure drafted by the Election Commission. The commission had requested parties and stakeholders to offer suggestions on the procedure by Thursday.
“We, the political parties, have serious concerns regarding the Political Party Self-evaluation Procedure 2082 drafted by the Election Commission, which directly impacts the independence of political parties, democratic values, and constitutional dignity. This procedure is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and the Political Parties Act. By misusing federal law and drafting a law akin to a separate act in the name of delegated legislation, the Election Commission has attempted to encroach upon the jurisdiction of the federal Parliament. We clearly disagree with and oppose this. This tendency to undermine the spirit of multi-party democracy and institutionalize the dominance of two parties is unacceptable,” the statement reads.
The 10 political parties have collectively stated in the press release that this procedure is not acceptable under any circumstances.
They have demanded an immediate halt to the drafting process of the procedure.
“The Constitution, existing laws, democratic values, and the rule of law must be respected. Otherwise, we will be compelled to take further political and legal steps against this,” they stated.
