On 8^th September Hikmat Karki becomes the Chief Minister of the Koshi Province second time in eight months. The Federal Education Bill that stirred a countrywide protest, settled down with a six-point agreement. Likewise, the UML Provincial Convention is being held across the provinces.

Timeline of major events

 

Date	Events
5th September	CPN-UML elected Radhakrishna Kandel as Lumbini’s Province Chair
8th September	Hikmat Karki re-appointed as Chief Minister of the Koshi Province
29th September	CPN-UML elected Kailash Dhungel as Bagmati’s Province Chair

 

Challenges to Federal Constitution

This year marked the ninth year of promulgation of the federal constitution in Nepal, still federal government has continually limiting the power and authority given to provincial and local units. Out of the 151 laws required to fully implement the constitution, only 111 have been put into effect. 40 of the remaining acts needs major amendments and replacements. The carelessness of political leadership about federalism and central government unwanted interference in work and functions of local levels have further paralyzed the effective implementation of federalism. The robust support from central level for institutional reform in local level is the need of the day, and the same reciprocal commitment is required from sub-national entities. Therefore, in order to successfully put the constitution into practice, the political leadership must demonstrate a sense of responsibility and commitment towards its adoption. 

UML Provincial Convention

The first Provincial Convention of UML has been ongoing, and the result is not in line with the central leadership that demands unanimous leadership. In Lumbini Province, Radhakrishna Kandel was appointed as the Lumbini provincial unit leader. Kailash Dhungel elected as party chief of Bagmati Province is considered to be the close ally of KP Sharma Oli. At the Party Province Committee inaugural event in Lumbini and Karnali, Oli had urged to elect the leadership unanimously, but the leadership was decided to be chosen through an election because there was no common consensus among the candidates. There was also request not to form panel and factions during the election. Statements like these from the party leader directly imply the central leadership's desire to maintain its position. The Lumbini and Karnali Province decision to conduct election in spite of KP Oli posture of unanimous selection of candidate directly infers the practice of intra-party democracy, and that voice has been raised against Oli. 

Political Maneuvering in Koshi Province

In Koshi Province, the political parties have been using the post of Chief Minister and Provincial Speaker for their political advantage. The Province has been tangled in a deep political crisis. It did witness the change in Chief Minister four times in a period of eight months. On September 8th, Hikmat Karki became the Chief Minister of Koshi Province for the second time. The crisis can be attributed to the factional interests of political parties and the mathematical complexity within the Provincial Assembly. Owing to such tricky mathematics, the UML poses a challenging situation to secure a vote of confidence. Besides political maneuvering from the Congress and the UML, the RPP has also been politically intervening by showing interest in leading the Province’s leadership. The tendency to form/disintegrate collations based on power interests and interference from the federal level has victimized the Koshi Province.

Federal Education Bill

A federal education bill that finally landed in the Parliament was mired in controversy and protest for giving more authority to provincial and local bodies. The bill gave local bodies’ complete authority over the establishment, and management of schools. Local units would also have the power to decide on school mergers, upgrades, downgrades, and relocations. The Education Bill, on one side aims to empower the local units and, on the other side, weakens them by proposing to revive the district-level Education Offices which were abolished after the Constitution of 2015. Teachers across the country are worried that giving full authority to the local levels would politicize the transfer and promotion of teachers, showcasing that they didn't want to become a mere pawn of political parties. After a six-point agreement between Nepal Teachers Federation and Government, the School Education Bill has been again tabled in the Parliament.