Miscellaneous
Parties not ensuring full representation to be crossed off EC list
Political parties need to ensure inclusive representation of women, Dalits and marginalised groups in their working committees and those of their sister organisationsTightening its screws on the political parties, the Election Commission has proposed scrapping their registration altogether if they fail to make their organisations proportionally inclusive through representation of the marginalised and backward communities.
In a bid to make the parties and their sister organisations inclusive and transparent as required by the new constitution, the election body has introduced tough measures. “In the new Act, we have adopted zero tolerance for the sake of inclusiveness and transparency of the political parties,” said EC Commissioner Ila Sharma. “Any parties not making their organisations, mainly the working committees, inclusive will face action.”
Commissioner Sharma, who headed the high-level legal drafting committee to amend the law on political parties in line with the newly adopted constitution, said all the parties should ensure inclusive representation of women, Dalits and other marginalised sections of society in their working committees and those of their sister organisations. If crossed off the EC list, a party may be barred from contesting elections under the requirement of the parties to be registered for at least one year to field their candidates.
The draft bill on the Political Party Related Act-2072 has clauses requiring 33 percent women, eight percent Dalits and other marginalised communities in party structures.
After the 2006 People’s Movement, the state has adopted the proportional inclusive policy in political parties and government mechanisms. One third representation of women in state bodies was ensured after the Interim Parliament endorsed a motion tabled by incumbent President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
As the motion was passed unanimously, the first Constituent Assembly in 2008 had 33 percent female members. The government has been enforcing one-third representation of women in the state mechanism. While women’s representation remained low in the second CA in 2013, the parties have since cared less also about representing the backward and marginalised communities.
The EC has already started consultations with key stakeholders including the parties for parliamentary approval of the legislation. Parties have welcomed the provisions in initial consultations but EC officials are sceptical whether the amendments are passed into law.
“It’s a welcome move. It will force the parties to make their organisations inclusive,” said CPN-UML Secretary Prithivi Subba Gurung. He added that his party has already started electing leaders from backward communities through reservation quota.
Nepali Congress Central Working Committee member Pushpa Bhusal said the new Act will make the parties proportionally inclusive in future. “Currently, the NC only has 17 percent women representation as per its existing statute,” said Bhusal. “We need to amend our party charter during the upcoming convention.”
In line with the new constitutional provisions, the NC has endorsed the policy of electing one third women representatives for the convention from all the seven provinces. “We welcome the EC move. It has forced the party leadership to adopt proportional inclusiveness fully in future,” said Bhusal.
On the transparency front, the EC has proposed state funds for the parties and banking channel for collecting donations above Rs25,000. They have to present their audit reports to the commission annually or face removal from the EC list, said Commissioner Sharma.
The electoral law mandates the scrapping of parties that fail to disclose their property for three consecutive fiscal years. In order to check the mushrooming of parties, the EC has suggested a 1.5 percent vote threshold for them to be eligible for state funding.