Do it anyway

Nepal’s three biggest parties have committed to fighting future elections on their own. They should.

General elections give the political parties the only real chance to test their popularity. What we have seen in the recent past is a clear preference of Nepal’s major forces for pre-poll alliances. With the country’s mixed electoral system unlikely to give any single party an absolute majority and thus a shot at forming the government on its own, what is the harm in jointly contesting elections with other parties? That, at least, is the argument of the proponents of such pre-election tie-ups. But in reality such pre-poll alliances smack of an utter lack of confidence and conviction. Nepali parties detest being in the opposition’s bench; there is no political culture of smaller parties accepting their limited mandate and waiting for the next five years for another shot at governing. So it makes sense for them to try to ensure, even before people head to the polls, to maximise their chances of being on the right side of the parliament’s aisle. What is more, such pre-poll alliances often come with the added bonus of safe seats for top leaders. But with parties professing vastly different ideologies standing on the same platform, the only message people get is that the country’s top parties are interested less in good governance and delivery than getting to power for its own sake.