CA passes the Fifth Amendment Bill, Madhesi parties boycott the meeting; Delay in government formation affecting quality of governance; Food and fuel crisis intensifies; UNMIN closes Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi offices
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    • espite the boycott of the Constituent Assembly (CA) meeting by the Madhesi political parties (Madhesi People's Rights Forum, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Sadbhavana Party and Dalit Janajati party), the CA on July 13 passed the Fifth Amendment bill on the 18-month-old Interim statute, paving the way for the election of the president, the prime minister and the CA chairman. 442 members out of the 601-member assembly voted for the bill. The Madhesi parties, who wanted an autonomous Madhes state as well as proportional representation of Madhesis in the Nepal Army, were protesting against the government's failure to table a bill in tune with the agreement signed on February 18.

    As per the bill, the president, vice president and prime minister would be elected through consensus among parties. If such a consensus was not reached, a majority of the existing members of the CA would elect the head of state and government. Among other provisions of the bill include the removal of the prime minister through simple majority of the CA, while the removal of the president and the vice-president would require a two-thirds majority. The bill also provides for the opposition leader to be a member in the constitutional council, which makes recommendations on important appointments. The CA also passed a bill pledging autonomous status to all provinces as desired by people from different communities including Madhesis1.

    Delay in the formation of the new government was also affecting the quality of governance in Nepal. The fuel crisis intensified on July 11 as the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) cut fuel supplies by 67 per cent as the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) failed to make payments to the IOC. As a result, oil imports went down to 1,000 KL per day as against the national daily requirement of over 3,000 KL per a day2.

    Meanwhile, a BBC report citing UN sources revealed that rising food prices and destroyed crop harvests were hitting the country very hard. The report noted that several hundred thousand needed urgent food assistance, especially in the remote mountainous parts of the country, which were mostly inaccessible by road3. Moreover, reports noted that food shortages continued to plague 25 VDCs of the Bhaisole area, seven VDCs of Chhabis area and 11 VDCs of the Pandrabis area of Achham district. These shortages persisted as there was no depot of the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) in these areas4.

    In other developments, UNMIN chief Ian Martin stated that UNMIN offices in Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi have been closed as its mandate had now been limited to monitoring of Maoist combatants and weapons. Following a decision of the seven-party alliance, the government had recently decided to ask the UN to extend UNMIN's term by another six months5.

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