Nurture Fruitful Coalition Culture

Forming a coalition government has become a compulsion, not a choice, in Nepal, thanks to the country’s mixed electoral system in which a single political party finds it difficult to secure a majority in the parliament. Nepal’s federal, republican constitution envisions an inclusive democracy. The spirit of the constitutional framework implies that it is only with the alliance of multiple parties that this monumental goal can be realised. To nurture a coalition culture, the political parties require ethical values, integrity and a fair power-sharing deal. If the parties strike a power-sharing agreement based on their electoral agenda and promises, their coalition government is likely to be successful and complete the stated terms in office. But an alliance merely based on the distribution of posts, resources, and the state’s spoils makes their partnership fragile.