KATHMANDU: The government's potential intention to pass an ordinance that could split political parties has alarmed Nepal's opposition parties. The CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, presided over a meeting on Friday to address this matter in the Parliament building in New Baneshwar.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) deputy parliamentary leader Biraj Bhakta Shrestha voiced concerns that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli would use the ordinance to single out and split minor parties within the current coalition. The Prime Minister's past acts have raised severe concerns, Shrestha said, adding that this was the main topic of the discussion.
The ruling coalition includes smaller parties with fewer seats in parliament, such as the Janata Samajbadi Party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, and Nagarik Unmukti Party, however, Shrestha declined to name any particular smaller parties at risk. The prime minister's potential to disband these smaller parties or take action against more recent ones, such as their own, worries the opposition leaders.
The administration, the Speaker, and the President will all be the targets of the opposition's worries. According to Shrestha, if the administration keeps using its authority in an authoritarian way, they may ask for a special meeting of parliament or ask the president to step in.
Leaders from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the RSP, the CPN (Unified Socialist), and other opposition parties attended the meeting, which Dahal called to discuss contemporary political challenges. There were also representatives from the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, indicating widespread disapproval of the government's strategy.
Due to a legal void, dissident groups inside various political organizations are currently unable to split out and form new parties. This deadlock follows the introduction of an ordinance in 2021 that made party splits easier, but it has since expired without a new law being passed by Parliament.
Party dissidents were permitted to split off and form new parties under the 2021 ordinance, which reduced the previous threshold of 40 percent to 20 percent of MPs and central committee members. According to the ordinance, this clause made it possible for well-known figures like Mahantha Thakur and Madhav Kumar Nepal to register new parties.
The Political Parties Act-2017's relevant section has remained void, creating a substantial legal void, because the government did not approve a new legislation to replace the ordinance within the allotted constitutional time.
The opposition fears that the Prime Minister may take use of this legal loophole to single out and destroy smaller parties, potentially upending the current political order.
In general, the opposition parties are organizing against what they see as a danger to Nepal's democratic standards and political parties' integrity, calling for alertness and aggressive steps to prevent possible government overreach.
