Interview

Mr. Yagya Raj Pandey has completed his BALLB from Nepal Law Campus. He is pursuing an LLM from Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus in Journalism and Mass Communications. He has also completed a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Journalism. He is also involved in Image Television as a news reporter and producer. He is also the content editor of lexnepal.com, Nepal’s first legal portal. He has been teaching law in Bachelor Entrance Examination Preparation for five years. Mr. Pandey started a YouTube channel because he thinks the language of law has been jargonized and made hard for the general public to understand. He aims to make it easy for normal citizens.

What is minority?

Our society is not composed of a people of single religion, caste or race. There are multiple sects in our society divided in castes, Varnas. The people whose representation in state authorities, politics, economic sector, and educational sector is absent or very less are known as minorities. For example: LGBT+ communities, Raute, etc. Women are NOT minorities considering the population but they are minorities considering their representation in various sectors.

Why is minority representation, in the parliament and everywhere alike, necessary?

Our society is a dynamic society. The wants, needs, and issues of minorities cannot be represented by a member of a majority sect because they are not familiar with those issues. Although the decisions are taken according to the opinions of majority in democracy, the opinions of minorities are also respected. The main goal of welfare based democracy is collective happiness and development which tries to accommodate the desires of as much citizens as possible. Democracy can’t be fully achieved by ignoring the voices of minorities.

How was the size of parliament determined?(Why exactly 275 in the lower house and 59 in the upper house? 

The exact demarcation is not present for the size. This method of representation is called territorial representation. The representation systems are different in different countries. In our system, it is ensured that each geographical unit is represented. The people living in different geographic regions of Nepal have different traditions and life styles. The Maoist revolution had promised to ensure territorial representation which resulted for the success of the movement. Consequently, this system was adopted as a consensus between Maoists and political parties of Nepal and promulgated by the Parliament. The primary job of the elected 601-member assembly was to promulgate a constitution. Constitution is the supreme law of the country and reflects the aspirations of the people. Maximum representation of people from every sect was required for it due to which the size of constituent assembly was very large. As our country could not afford to organize a separate election for the parliament, the same body worked as both Constituent Assembly and Legislative. After the promulgation of Constitution of Nepal 2072, it was realized that our economic status was not so strong to maintain such a large body and the size was cut to 275 for the Legislative.
No commission was formed for determination of size of parliament. It was a result of political consensus.

How has federalism fared in Nepal after 6 years of its implementation?

The concept of Federalism for Nepal is quite new. The introduction of Federalism in Nepal wasn’t done in a matured way. There is still a lack of full proof logic for need of federalism in Nepal. The election for three tiers of government was successfully conducted in 2074B.S. This was a major milestone in the journey of federalism in Nepal. All the governments from local to central level were successfully formed. The three tier system of federalism is rare in the world. The Federal systems of India and USA are based on two tiers. The relevance of three tiers is yet to be proven in Nepal. For example, during the COVID pandemic local governments worked well for establishment of local hospitals and quarantine centers. Federal government was also necessary but the role of provincial governments was almost negligible. In addition to this, there is high political instability in provinces. Multiple State Heads have been changed in a very small time. The connection between provincial government and public is also weak. It is high time we review and reconsider the relevance of Federalism in Nepal.

Why do you think the ratio of FPTP: PR in the lower house 60:40? Is it any mathematical endpoint or is it a product of general consensus?

The politics of Nepal had been very unstable after 2063. To eliminate the instability and ensure the proportional representation, proportional system is necessary but the candidates elected by this method are not connected and accountable to the general public. So, FPTP system was also deemed important. As, a result, the political consensus was achieved on a 60:40 FPTP:PR ratio.

What would a 100% FPTP world and a 100% PR world look like?

A 100% FPTP world is unimaginable. It violates our ideas of minority representation, welfare democracy, and equal share of power. In a diverse country like Nepal, FPTP can't address issues of everyone. On the other hand, a 100% PR system can invite political instability due to large number of political parties.

Can you tell us about the transitional phase from constitutional monarchy to democracy? What were the constraints? How was the structuring of the nation done?

After the Mass Movement of 2047BS, the monarch agreed upon to be under the Constitution but it was not so in practice. Similarly, it was desired that the head of the State should be elected by the people. As a result, Nepal entered Constitutional democracy from Constitutional monarchy. The relevance of concepts like Federalism and secularism is still debated in our country.

If there was one thing that could have been done differently when structuring the country’s political shape (Parliament or States) that would improve the existing structure, what would that be?

In my opinion, we can avoid the provincial government and go for a two tier Federal structure including Federal and local governments. The local government should be made more powerful and resourceful. The financial situation of our country is not viable to sustain 7 provincial governments. Also, the importance of provincial government is not seen. I don't think we should return to the Unitary system. We should strengthen the local governments with economic and legal advisors so that they can make laws and budgets properly as per their needs.

It seems that women have reserved 1/3rd seats in the whole parliament, in addition to 50% reservation in PR closed lists, through a compensatory system. However, ethnic groups have reserved seats in the HoR only through PR closed list reservations, a non-compensatory system. Why couldn’t there be a compensatory system for ethnic groups as well?

In my opinion, first of all the composition of major political parties should be made inclusive in respect to different ethnicities. After achieving this only we can think of making the proportional representation compensatory for ethnicities as well.

In the last parliament, the composition of the house was: 335 through PR(56%), 240 through FPTP(40%) and 26 through nomination(4%). The present lower house has members 60% through FPTP and 40% through PR. Why do the percentages look like they have been swapped for FPTP and PR in two consecutive houses?

This is more of a political issue than a legal one. Maoists were in political control in 2063. Their revolution was based on the agendas of inclusiveness and minority rights. To ensure the majority of their party in the parliament, Maoists advocated for high PR share. On the other hand, Maoists had become third largest party in 2072. Nepali Congress and CPN-UML were in control. As a large PR share could cause political instability, they decided to reduce it to 40%.

What do you think about the role of youth like us in the political scenario of the country? 

I think the work you are doing is great. The main role of youth is to ask questions. We cannot sit silently saying, "I hate politics." It is time we make ourselves aware about our surroundings. We cannot depend on others' opinions. We should listen to everyone's opinions and then come to a conclusion. As voters, we need to ask questions to politicians. We should reconsider our electoral and representation system.