Madhes parties for 10 provinces, parliament system of gov

KATHMANDU, AUG 23 - With less than three months to go for the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections slated for November 19, Madhes-centric parties have started zeroing in on the federal model and form of governance the country should adopt.

Almost all Madhes parties are pitching for two autonomous provinces in the plains, basing them on the majority report of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) that has proposed 10 provinces with  two of them in the Madhes.

The parties are also for a parliamentary system of governance, where the prime minister would be elected from the legislature. However, the Upendra Yadav-led Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Nepal (MJF-N) is in favour of a directly-elected president who will exercise executive powers.

According to the General Secretary of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (MJF-L), Jitendra Dev, his party supports an improved form of the parliamentary system. On the federal set-up, Dev, who also heads the manifesto-writing committee of the party, said they are for 10 provinces, along the lines suggested by the SRC. “Our bottom line is that there should be two autonomous provinces in the Madhes--Madhes province and Tharuhat province,” he said.

He added that his party's manifesto demands that elections for provinces be held within one year of the promulgation of the constitution.The party which split from the MJF-N in July 2009, will be contesting the CA polls for the first time.

Sadhbhawana Party has also pitched for 10 provinces. According to leader Laxman Lal Karna, who heads the manifesto writing committee of the party, the two provinces in the Madhes would be named after consultations with the Tharu community. “As for the forms of governance, we are for a parliamentary system with executive powers vested on the prime minister,” he said.

The Rastriya Madhes Samajbadi Party, which split from the MJF-L in September last year, also said it favours the parliamentary system, where the prime minister, elected through a parliament, has the executive powers. “Though our position is for a single province, we could go for two,” said party spokesperson Izhar Mikrani.

The Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party led by Mahanta Thakur said it has a similar take on both these issues.

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