International IDEA has been engaged in Nepal since 1997 assessing the challenges to Nepal’s nascent democracy, and building and supporting multi-party consensus to support a democratic governance agenda. More recently (since 2004) International IDEA carried out a democracy assessment in Nepal, within the framework of a regional undertaking (similar assessments carried out in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka), using multiple methodologies including surveys, case studies and qualitative assessments to understand citizens’ experiences and expectations of the democratic process. The assessments utilized International IDEA’s State of Democracy Assessment methodology.
International IDEA’s previous project in Nepal “Dialogues on Constitutional Processes” began in July 2004 in response to a request of the European Commission for proposals to address the underlying crises of governance experienced by Nepal over the last few years. (Read the report) The main objectives of the project were to revitalize dialogue amongst key Nepali stakeholders to help overcome significant political divisions; to promote a more inclusive constitutional process and lead to the establishment of a pluralistic democracy. The project sought views on the shape and direction that governance structures should take by speaking to citizens, political party members, civil society organizations, proxies and sympathisers of the Maoists and of the monarchy. In order to obtain these views, the project carried out surveys on citizens’ perceptions of democracy, public debates on democracy and expert assessments by constitutional specialists and other scholars of challenges faced by democracy in Nepal.
A ‘State of Democracy in Nepal” - A comprehensive random survey, was conducted across the country. Its main finding was that despite almost ten years of insurgency, despite disappointment with political parties, and despite widespread corruption, a majority of Nepali citizens still prefer democracy to any other system of governance.
Dialogues on democracy: ‘Nepal needs constitutional reform’ - The dialogues on constitutional processes were convened with the support of a broad array of national partners (such as the Nepal South Asia Centre (NESAC), the Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP), the Martin Chautari Network, the Enabling State Programme and the Centre for Studies on Democracy and Good Governance) and experts with comparative experience in constitutional processes from Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, Kenya, Afghanistan, Thailand and Cambodia. The dialogues were held on a wide range of issues including: negotiating a political settlement; making constitution writing more inclusive and participatory; ways of balancing people’s sovereignty against constitutional monarchy; affirmative action and electoral system designs; and determining an agenda for the future. Read the report published in July, 2005.
A ‘People’s Conference’ was convened in November 2004 to conclude the programme and to review the experiences and outcomes of the constitutional dialogues. It was attended by over 800 people from Kathmandu and across the country, representing a wide range of social groups. Given the absence of electoral processes at the national and local levels, the conference provided a valuable forum for people to voice their concerns, especially their views on wanting a more inclusive and thereby more legitimate government. Some speakers identified the existence and power of the monarchy as the main obstacle to obtaining a ‘full democracy’, many questioned the institution’s relevance, while others spoke of the need to revive a parliamentary process for resolving the Maoist insurgency.
Democracy Assessments – International IDEA also commissioned a group of national experts to comment on specific features of the democratic process in Nepal that escapes capture by surveys, dialogues and legal analyses.
In 2006, International IDEA carried out a programme involving both research and dialogue on constitutional options as way out of the constitutional impasse of the time. The report was supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Nepal.
