INDIGENOUS CANDIDATES TO CONTROL ONE-THIRD OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000815

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NP
SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS CANDIDATES TO CONTROL ONE-THIRD OF
NEPAL'S CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

Summary
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1. (U) Indigenous nationality ("janajati") candidates won
just over a third of the seats in Nepal's Constituent
Assembly (CA) election on April 10. They occupy nearly a
third of the seats from first-past-the-post contests and
slightly more than a third from the proportional
representation (PR) race. Janajati candidates also received
half of the 26 appointed seats, giving them a total of 212
members (or 35 percent) in the 601-member Assembly. Almost
half -- more than 90 of them -- are Maoists. However, the PR
race, with its significant quota for indigenous
nationalities, ensured that the other major parties also
included janajatis in their ranks. The CA election's results
constituted a significant increase over the 1999 election in
the percentage of janajati in Nepal's Parliament and brought
these historically disadvantaged groups a level of
representation roughly comparable to their total population.

Janajatis to Control One-Third of Seats
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2. (U) In April's election, indigenous nationality
("janajati") candidates captured 212 seats, or 35.2 percent,
of the 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA). Janajati
candidates won 79 of the 240 first-past-the-post (FPTP)
seats, or 32.9 percent, and 120 of the 335 proportional
representation (PR) seats, or 35.8 percent. They also won
half of the 26 appointed seats in the CA.

Maoists Dominate Janajati Representation
--------------


3. (U) A large number of janajati candidates elected in both
races are from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
Maoists captured 50 of the 79 seats won by janajatis in
first-past-the-post (FPTP) contests and 43 of the 120
janajati seats in the proportional representation (PR) race.
The Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of
Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (UML) also won a substantial
number of janajati seats. The NC and CPN (UML) won 10 and 11
seats, respectively, in FPTP races and 27 and 25 seats,
respectively, in the PR contest. While most of the janajati
seats were won by members of the three largest parties, a
handful of small, indigenous-based parties also won seats -
including the National People's Liberation Party, the Federal
Democratic National Forum, the Nepal National Party and the
Nepal Democratic Socialist Party. All of these seats were
won in the PR contest. (Note: The PR contest employed a
quota requiring all parties who had more than 100 candidates
on their candidate list to select janajati candidates for at
least 37.8 percent of the seats they won. End note.)

Substantial Increase Compared to Previous Parliament
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4. (U) April's CA election showed a 12.3 percent increase in
the number of janajatis in parliament since the 1999 general
election. This increase brings the proportion of indigenous
MPs to a point of near equality with the proportion of
janajatis in Nepal's total population, which is estimated at
37.8 percent. However, there are still no major janajati
parties. Probably the three most prominent janajati MPs are
Subash Nembang (UML),a Rai elected from Ilam, who is the
former Speaker of the Interim Parliament, and K.B. Gurung
(NC),a Gurung also elected from Ilam, who is the Acting
Chairman of the CA, and parliamentary leader of the Madhesi
People's Rights Forum Bijay Gachchhadar, who is a Tharu.

Large Number of Indigenous Groups Represented
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5. (U) According to the Nepal Federation of Indigenous
Nationalities (NEFIN),the newly elected janajati MPs
represent a total of 37 of the 59 officially registered
indigenous groups. Among these, the Tharus, the Newars, the
Magars, the Gurungs, the Rais, the Tamangs, and the Limbus
received the largest number of seats. Between the FPTP
contests and the PR race, 33 indigenous groups captured

KATHMANDU 00000815 002 OF 002


seats. An additional 4 groups gained representation by being
selected for one of the 26 appointed seats. (Note: According
to the Interim Constitution, as amended, the purpose of the
appointed seats was to give representation to indigenous
groups which had not been able to gain it through either the
FPTP contests or the PR race. NEFIN Chairman Pasang Lama
received one of these seats. End Note.)

Comment
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6. (U) The fact that janajatis reached nearly proportional
representation in the recent CA election is a positive sign
for Nepal's indigenous communities, who have often been
underrepresented and discriminated against in the past. It
is also significant that janajati candidates were almost
equally successful in the PR and FPTP races, which had no
quota attached to them. Much of the credit for this success
can be given to the Maoists, who have clearly become a strong
ally for indigenous communities by nominating janajati
candidates. However, there are still few janajati faces in
any party's leadership. In a country where most decisions
are made by party leadership -- and where voting along party
lines is mandatory -- the challenge for janajatis is to
translate their numerical strength into political power.
BERRY