With the country set to go for local polls on May 13, political parties are now on the hustings to muster the people’s support in their favour. The five-party coalition government is poised to conduct the elections in a free, fair and impartial manner. The other day, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki reiterated the government’s commitment to holding the local polls within the stipulated timeframe.

While addressing a meeting of the Nepali Congress workers at the Banke office Saturday, Minister Karki, who is also the government’s spokesman, assured that the local polls would be held on the announced date and said that the coalition partners were discussing to form an election alliance so as to contest the three-tier elections jointly. NC, which leads the coalition government, is yet to come up with its official view on whether or not to forge the poll alliance. However, Minister Karki’s remarks indicate at the possibility of an important electoral collaboration which will have broader implications for the national politics.

Minister Karki has observed that the present coalition government, led by Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, was formed to protect the constitution and Lokatantra as well as fulfil the aspirations of the Nepali people. It is putting its best foot forward to address the burning issues facing the nation. It has brought the derailed constitution back on track after the dissolution of the House of Representatives twice in a span of six months by then prime minister KP Sharma Oli.

The then Nepal Communist Party (NCP)-led government had near two-thirds majority in the Lower House. It was first elected legislature following the three-tier elections held after the country got new constitution in 2015. But the House dissolution threatened to upend the federal republican system adopted in line with the new charter. Dissenting with Oli’s move, around two dozen lawmakers of CPN-UML deserted the party to form the CPN-Unified Socialist. It joined hands with the NC, CPN-Maoist Centre, Janata Samabadi Party and Rastriya Janamorcha against the House dissolution. They collected the signatures of required number of lawmakers and filed a writ at the Supreme Court that reversed the dissolution and ordered the Office of President to form the government under Deuba.

Meanwhile, Unified Socialist chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, while speaking at a programme in Rautahat the other day, said that the coalition government has brought an end to the unconstitutional tendencies seen in the working of the previous government. The alliance has proved its strong unity between its constituents, especially during the passage of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant from the parliament. As the current government played a crucial role in giving a way out to constitutional crisis, it has the onus to consolidate the republican set-up, federalism, secularism and democracy.

The creation of the five-party alliance has ensured political stability and smooth direction in democratic exercise of which announcement of the local level elections is an important measure. The upcoming three-tier polls will be another milestone in institutionalising the democratic system and implementation of the constitution. The local polls play a significant role in promoting the participatory democracy in which the people have their enhanced access to the decision-making process. It also helps to accelerate development works at the grassroots level with the involvement of the elected representatives. The coalition government is tasked with conducting the polls by taking all stakeholders into confidence. Fair, free and fearless elections stand as a prerequisite to a functional democracy.