Nepal’s Chief Justice Khilraj Regmi is sworn in to replace Nepal’s Prime Minister as the head of the government. was recently sworn in to lead a new interim government which promises to hold elections in three months.
“Our prime concern is to conduct a free and fair election as soon as possible. Political parties are also committed to it," he says in the ceremony. "We will appoint a chief commissioner and commissioners very soon. All of the state mechanisms are focused on the election. I would like to thank the political parties for trusting me.”
The cross-party agreement on his appointment has brought an end to the deadlock between the four main political parties.
Nepal has struggled to rebuild itself after a decade of civil war ended in 2006, leaving more than 16 thousand dead. The country has been without a parliament and an interim Constitution since last year.
So the appointment of the Chief Justice is a new opportunity for Nepal to finally hold elections.
But not everyone is happy.
In Kathmandu, hundreds of people are demanding the government reconsiders its decision. The protest is led by the opposition CPN-Maoist party. Rambadhur Thapa, who leads the protesters, promises to continue until the Chief Justice resigns.
“This is just for show, in the name of the election. So we are planning for a strong street protest against the government and the President too.
The formation of the new government is unconstitutional and anti-democratic. So we can't support it.”
Similar concerns are being voiced by the Nepal Bar Association, a national umbrella organisation of lawyers. Tikaram Bhattarai is the Association’s Vice-President.
“We are protesting because the head of the judiciary has become the head of the executive at the same time," as Tikaram explains.
"Secondly, it’s not right to handover the government when there is no parliament. Thirdly, there are some petitions have been filed against making the Chief Justice the head of interim government and unfortunately he has accepted it. This is a big blunder. We will continue our protest till he resigns from the post of chief justice.”
But despite the protests, major political parties are gearing up for the election next June.
The government has appointed three former election commissioners to make sure the elections go ahead on time.
Former Chief Election Commissioner, Suryaprasad Shrestha, is optimistic, while admitting there are tough challenges ahead. “Of course, there are several challenges; basically first and foremost is formation of the election commission itself."
"Then the government should provide the entire necessary legal framework, strengthen the commission. And basic challenge to us is the security system.”
But senior Journalist Yuwaraj Ghimire, disagrees. “I don't think it's possible for many reasons, mainly because of large number of political parties are not keen so far to be the part of electoral process. There are many things including formation of the election commission to be completed. The credibility of the election would be too low because the legitimacy of the government, which leads by the Khliraj Regmi who is also Chief justice of the Supreme Court, are under cloud.”
But it appears that both political parties and the public are excited by recent events.Rastriya Prajatantra Party, a former monarchy supporter, recently held a public campaign in Kathmandu for the election.
While at the election commission office, officials are busy updating the voter lists. It is hoped that elections in June will lead to a new constitution and help ensure lasting peace.
83-year-old Hariprasad Upadhya is waiting for his voting card. “Until last week, voters' identity cards were meaningless, so I wasn't interested," he explains.
But now he has high hopes on the Chief Justice. "I believe that this government will conduct fresh elections. If this government can’t hold the election then who can?"
He's planning to go back to his village for the election when the dates are out.
