Q&A: Nepal wants a politics-free bureaucracy. Its methods are deeply political

Umesh Mainali, who chaired the Public Service Commission, says the Balendra Shah government’s ordinance-driven purge is legally risky, institutionally damaging, and likely to backfire.

The Balendra Shah government’s recent set of ordinances has triggered a sweeping purge of political appointees across public institutions, raising questions about the independence, competence and morale of Nepal’s bureaucracy. The controversy surrounding the recommendation of a new Chief Justice has further intensified concerns over whether the state is moving toward a performance-based system or merely replacing one form of political patronage with another.