Development of Political Parties

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Maoists; (b) the non-cooperation of the army in the field after its mobilization; and (c) the army pressurizing the government to fulfill its own preconditions before entering combat operations in Maoist affected areas.”²¹⁶

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were the key political parties in Nepal that contested the CA election in 2008.²¹⁹

 CPN (M)

 NC

 CPNUML

 MPRF

 The Terai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP)

 The Sadhbavana Party

 The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)

A transformation approach²²⁰ analysis shows that Nepali political parties have

theoretically and practically changed their general behavior – for example, adopting ethnic and minority issues in their programs – but it does not show the process of this transformation.

In terms of party building, existed literature shows that the process of party expansion lacked the aspect of democracy. As compared to developed countries, in Nepal, the means of

attracting people were not formulated through policies and programs. Nepali political parties seemed to rely more on maximization of party members and supporters, and called it

organizational development. This type of party-building process had appeal from 1991 to 2000, but now the situation has changed and several methods such as affiliation and association that appeared in the immediate aftermath of the successful people’s movement have given way to apathy towards and disillusionment with the parties and their leaders.²²¹

A review of the literatureon parties’ programs finds similarities in each party, where leaders remain willing to adhere to rules and regulations as long as it suits their interests.

Once the party or leader feels that the rule of law cannot fulfill their aspirations, they

immediately adopt such undemocratic means as general strikes and street protests. Leaders of

219 Election Commission, of Nepal, CA Election 2008, list of Wining Candidates

http://www.election.gov.np/reports/CAResults/reportBody.php. Accessed on June 10, 2012.

220 A transformation approach here is to understand the institution like political parties, institutional patterns, organizational structure of their membership, and change in party systems.

221 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 3–4.

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smaller political parties have been leading undemocratic political processes by organizing periodic agitations that disrupt normal life. This culture of politics first appeared in Nepali political parties when a multiparty democracy was initiated.

Hachhethu states that, in the post 1990s Jana Andolan period, the NC and CPN-UML had already passed through the stages of party formation and party survival before entering the new stage of party building.²²² Since the restoration of democracy in 1990, political parties – the NC and the CPN (UML), in particular – have undergone a number of distinct

transformations, i.e., from illegal organizations to legitimate contenders for political power;

from underground organizations to open competitive parties; from cadre-based to mass-based parties; from a small group of people sharing common interests to heterogeneous

organizations consisting of people with diverse interests; and from ideology-oriented organizations to power-seeking parties.²²³ From 1991 to 1996, the political parties entered into several unnatural collusions within and beyond their ranks that directly and indirectly affected the activities and formation of governments. Ultimately, this became the major factor in the political instability in the country.²²⁴

From 1991 to 2006, when the elections for the CA were held, Nepal was being ruled by several political parties, which were in favor of participatory democracy, but in practice, a handful of leader of political parties held power. The Election Commission of Nepal registered that in 2012, there were 74 political parties.²²⁵ This shows that the political development of the parties was increasing significantly.

The structure of Nepali political parties is more or less similar—the heads of the parties are elected by all the members and the other remaining members are elected or nominated by the president of the parties. Besides this, some seats in the party are filled on a caste/ethnic basis.

222 Ibid., 23.

223 Ibid., 21.

224 Thapa and Sijapati, A Kingdom under Siege, 38-40.

225 Election Commission, of Nepal, Registered Political Parties.2012

http://www.election.gov.np/election/en/political-parties-86.html. Accessed on July 10, 2012.

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Almost all parties create their network organization from a local to a central level. In addition to this, national parties select candidates for parliament and local elections. In some cases, a strong and popular candidate gets the opportunity to stand for elections, while, in others, nepotism plays a role and kinship gets the highest priority.²²⁶

With regard to the political development of parties in the CA, the leadership has been captured by teachers, professors, social workers, and members of middle- and high-class families; religious and ethnic community leaders reap the benefits. After the 2008 elections for the CA, the political situation in Nepal changed slightly, such that women, and, in some cases, people from the underprivileged and minor communities, occupied positions in the CA for the first time.²²⁷

When analyzing the financial background of political parties, research shows that local businesses, party member fees, donations, for example, are the main financial resources of political parties. However, the CPN (Maoist) has been undertaking mass agriculture, poultry farming, and other productive works throughout the country to provide a sustainable

livelihood for its cadres.²²⁸

Nepali media began playing a central role in society after the political changes of 1990.

During the time of insurgency, and especially after 1996, the media contributed in the political development. The Maoists, too, used their own party activists as media people to ensure that major hidden issues did not become known. Nepal’s media played an important role in covering up the political issues during the mass movements of 2006 by controlling what was disseminated to the general public. With the inclusion of the dispensation of pluralistic polity, the inclusion of the press, and publication rights as well as the right to

226 Hachhethu, Party Building in Nepal, 121–65.

227 The Carter Center, Observing the 2008 Nepal CA Election, April 2008, 11, 65.

https://www.ciaonet.org/attachments/17945/uploads. Accessed on July 10, 2012.

228 Dahal, Dev Raj, “Elections and Conflict in Nepal Country Analysis,”12.

http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/07722.pdf. Accessed on June 10, 2012.

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information in the 1990 constitution, the Nepalese media have had a favorable environment to flourish and have had sufficient space to highlight the issues of the common people.

To some extent, the Nepali media have played a neutral role, but, in some cases, they have been the mouthpiece of political parties and have spread propaganda against the regime in power.