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Equal Representation 'must For Peace, Progress' |
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(Updated)
KATHMANDU, Aug 17: Though everyone at the policy-making level acknowledges that exclusion and inequality are perennial evils of Nepalis for years, there has been no consensus on the measures to overcome the major obstacles to human development.
On this backdrop, a crucial report has indicated that the present political system and state structure must undergo significant changes to end the exclusion and inequality in the society and peace is the cornerstone to achieve genuine progress.
Nepal Human Development Report 2009 on ´State Transformation and Human Development´ released on Monday in the capital has put forward a 10-point agenda for action for state transformations that include some important views on political transformation in the country.
The report stresses reviewing and devising a mixed electoral system, democratizing political parties, bringing governance closure to the people, building strong sense of citizenship and political community and ensuring representation and participation of different stakeholders in the peace process.
The report also stresses political transformation to eliminate exclusion, to increase participation and improve the quality of people´s lives.
Proper representation and participation of people -- mainly from women, various castes and ethnic groups and those living in remote regions -- is a must to restore sustainable peace and human development through state transformation.
“However, only increasing representation of excluded groups doesn´t yield any result without their meaningful and influential presence at the decision-making level in state restructuring process,” Bishwa Nath Tiwari, lead author of the report, said on Monday while launching the report.
Tiwari said present existing mixed electoral system must be reviewed to ensure better participation and inclusion.
The report also emphasized on the need to some revision in the existing mixed electoral system with possibility for compromising between popular elections and proportional representation depending on the caste and ethnic make-up and the governance structures under federal system.
However, the sole revision in electoral system doesn´t lead to the proper state restructuring, argues the report.
“Democratization within the political parties is of utmost necessity for political inclusion and systemic integration...,” said Tiwari.
Though 335 or 58 percent of the 575 elected seats in the CA have been allocated for proportional representation, a number of excluded groups and regions, several castes and ethnic groups don´t have a single member of the CA.
“And, given the need for a legislature of viable size in the future, it will be difficult to represent all the castes and ethnic groups in unitary state structure. There is a strong case for wider and more equitable representation through a federal structure,” added the report.
Releasing the report, Yubaraj Khatiwada, vice-chair of National Planning Commission, also underlined the need to ensure internal democracy among political parties, proper participation in policy making and access of women and people from marginalized sectors to state resources to end injustice and exclusion.
Robert Piper, UNDP resident representative, was of the view that equal participation of all people in state restructuring has to be ensured to promote human development in the country.
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Nepal Human Development Report 2009 |
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This news item is printed from myrepublica.com - a sister publication of Republica national daily.
© Nepal Republic Media Pvt. Ltd. Kathmandu Nepal.
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