On a slippery slope

After sliding into particracy, Nepal's democracy is degenerating into kleptocracy.

Nepal marked the 16th Loktantra Diwas on Sunday . This time as it coincides with the preparation for the local elections, we need to consider what it took to arrive at where we are and how even after all these years. Political parties that claim to support and strengthen democratic values themselves lack the ethical discipline to ensure that shortcomings and malpractices are rooted out from local governance. And yet, this year, as we head to hold the local elections on May 13 , the political parties, through the practice of alliance politics, have shown that they harbour no intentions of increasing democratic space in local governance and, in turn, strengthening democratic values.