NDI has been working in Nepal since 1994 to strengthen the country’s democratic processes. In recent years, the Institute has conducted voter and civic education programs to promote citizen understanding of and involvement in the political sphere, supported anti-corruption efforts, carried out nationwide public opinion polling, and conducted programs to increase the political participation and effectiveness of local women leaders and activists. The Institute has initiated programs to promote consensus building between parties, strengthen political party leadership and governance, and encourage civil society and media oversight of the political process.
To support elections for Nepal’s Constituent Assembly on April 10, 2008, NDI assisted the Democracy and Election Alliance Nepal (DEAN) in training and deploying more than 9,000 nonpartisan pollwatchers. The Institute also conducted a training-of-trainers program for political party polling agents. NDI is currently working with political party activists and women parliamentarians through the Women’s Leadership Academy in order to enhance their political skills and their ability to deliver services. Graduates of the first phase of the WLA are now helping to implement the second phase. The Institute conducts ongoing consultations with political parties and elected members to develop party strengthening programs focusing on internal party democracy. As part of this program, the Institute organized a women’s film festival to raise awareness of gender-based issues among Constituent Assembly members, civil society leaders and the media.
Political Situation
Nepal’s ten year civil war came to a close with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) by the government and the Maoists in November 2006. For the first time in nine years, Nepal held elections in April 2008 for the Constituent Assembly, which was charged with drafting a new constitution by May 2010. All major parties contested, including the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) and new parties from the restive Terai region. Defying predictions, the UCPN-M emerged as the largest party in the Constituent Assembly with 38 percent of the seats, and party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) was elected prime minister in August 2008. The Assembly abolished the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and declared Nepal a secular republic.
The Constituent Assembly, which also functions as an interim parliament, faces several challenges: severe unrest in the southern plains of the Terai; high expectations for political inclusion by historically marginalized groups; and the need to negotiate new political arrangements after a socially and politically destabilizing civil war. Tensions came to a head in early May 2009 when orders to integrate the Maoist People’s Liberation Army with the Nepal Army, as called for in the CPA, were ignored by then army chief of staff, General Rookmangud Katawal. On May 3, 2009, Prime Minister Dahal’s order to fire Katawal was overruled by President Ram Baran Yadav, who instructed the general to remain in place. Prime Minister Dahal resigned the next day.
Following this development, the second and third largest parties in the Assembly, the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), formed a coalition government with 19 other smaller parties. On May 23, 2009, CPN-UML senior leader Madav Nepal was elected prime minister.
Since their move to the opposition, the Maoists have disrupted parliamentary proceedings and conducted violent strikes and rallies throughout the country. Completing the constitution drafting process by the May 2010 deadline and addressing the daily needs of citizens during this transitional period will become an increasingly daunting task.
Current Activities
Currently, NDI is working with political party activists and women parliamentarians, through the Women’s Leadership Academy, in order to enhance their political skills and their ability to deliver services. Graduates of the first phase of the WLA are now helping to implement the second phase. The Institute conducts ongoing consultations with political parties and elected members to develop party strengthening programs focusing on internal party democracy. As part of this program, the Institute organized a women’s film festival to raise awareness of gender-based issues among Constituent Assembly members, civil society leaders and the media. NDI is also in the process of opening district-level multi-party constituency offices for women Assembly members, as well as creating a television program that focuses on women’s issues.
