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Nepal PM resigns

As Nepal's squabbling politicians battle for the sixth time in four years, ultimate power could slowly be shifting back to the royal palace, constitutional experts in Kathmandu say.

Political parties that fought against the monarchy for three decades to establish democracy are the ones that have brought about its failure today, they add.

Multi-party rule was ushered into this Himalayan kingdom in 1990 after a popular pro-democracy uprising. King Birendra was forced to accept a constitution that stripped him of absolute powers.

But eight years later, the royal palace is the unexpected beneficiary of political instability. Leaders out to settle scores with rivals have made an unwitting referee of the king, giving him more powers than was intended.

Constitutional experts and political analysts warn the growing role of the royal palace could ultimately undo the gains of the 1990 people's movement.

''All of the king's actions, according to the constitution, should be based upon the prime minister's advise,'' points out Ganesh Raj Sharma, the foremost constitutional expert in the country. ''The king should solicit advise from no one but the prime minister and act accordingly. But that has not been the case in recent years. It is a worrying trend.''

The latest incident was last Thursday when the monarch set aside the recommendation of prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala to dissolve the 205-seat house of representatives, Nepal's lower house, and call fresh election.

The 73-year-old Koirala decided to call fresh election following the sudden withdrawal of support by the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist-Leninist, a break-away faction of the Communist Party of Nepal-United-Marxist-Leninist.

King Birendra chose to ignore his prime minister's advise, and acceded to opposition demands to convene a special session of Parliament to consider a vote of no-confidence.

Constitutional expert Surya Dhungel says Nepal's politicians, despite decades of struggle for democracy behind them, lack the long-term vision needed to consolidate democratic gains.

''Political parties have not learnt from the lessons of past. They do not realise that their squabbles could have unsavoury implications. This is an unfortunate moment in Nepal's history,'' he says.

King Birendra's political role however cannot be faulted. Observers concede that if his powers have grown it is because opposition leaders regularly challenge the prime minister's right to dissolve Parliament. The supreme court in 1995 interpreted the constitutional provisions and said the king has considerable discretionary authority to decide on such occasions. Since 1995, King Birendra has twice denied the prime minister's prerogative to dissolve parliament.

Many analysts think the court's 1995 interpretation is flawed. Sharma says no elected government in Nepal can dissolve the parliament in future and appeal to the electorate for a fresh mandate.

''The people are the ultimate authority in a democracy, but our courts have denied a government the chance to appeal to that supreme authority,'' he concludes. ''You cannot blame the king because his actions are based upon those interpretations of the supreme court.''

Now politicians are talking about finding a lasting remedy to frequent changes in governments. Koirala's predecessor, Sher Bahadur Deuba, says, ''There are some points to be cleared in our constitution.''

Madhav Kumar Nepal, the powerful general secretary of the main opposition, the CPN-UML, thinks political parties need to foreclose the constitutional ambiguities.

''The prime minister's prerogative to dissolve parliament should be absolute... The past four years have demonstrated what a mess it can be without a strong executive,'' he said.

Monday afternoon, Koirala had resigned, putting an end to the 9-month old Nepali Congress minority government. A statement said this was to pave way for the formation of a new coalition government with the CPN-UML and the pro-India Nepal Sadbhabana Party.

According to an agreement reached between the Congress and the communists, Koirala would head the coalition.

UNI

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