Communicating The Constituent Assembly Election In Nepal

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Communicating The Constituent Assembly Election In Nepal

Implications For Political Awareness Among Rural People

Sten T. Brand

Department of Master Thesis 30/60 credits 2008

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The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB). Eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments.

The Noragric Master theses are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture” (MNRSA), “Development Studies” and other Master programmes.

The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric.

©Sten T. Brand, May 2007 [email protected] Noragric

Department of International Environment and Development Studies Norwegian University of Life Science (UMB)

P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway

Tel.: +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01

Internet: http://www.umb.no/noragric

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Declaration

I hereby declare that this is my own original work, and applications of all other material are acknowledged. This thesis has not been submitted to any other University than UMB for any type of academic degree.

Signature:__________________

Date:__________

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Abstract

Access to information plays a significant role in the success of participatory democracy. Press freedom is the key to transparency, in that it provides the public with information on

government action and policy, and keeping up with the principles of “good governance”.

What is increasingly important is to explore reasons for why this function sometimes fails and what the consequences are for the people involved. This study explores the function of the media as an information provider in rural Nepal in the wake of the Constituent Assembly election, and how lack of information affects rural people’s attitude and understanding of the democratic process.

A research strategy combining qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection was applied to get a deeper understanding of the situation in two geographically and culturally different districts of Nepal. The strategy consisted of a survey, semi-structured interviews and field observations. The results were triangulated and conclusions to the research questions were made based on these results. The duration of the fieldwork lasted from the end of

October to middle of December of 2007, during a period of political upheaval and civil unrest.

The election was carried out on the 10^th of April 2008, with only minor disturbances in a few voting districts across the nation. The Constituent Assembly election marks the end of the Monarchy in Nepal and new hopes for traditionally marginalized groups such as the lower cast Dalits and women, who have been deprived of political participation in the past. The results came as a surprise to many political analysts and opinion makers, the traditionally large parties such as the Nepali Congress party and the UML suffered an embarrassing defeat, as the new parties such as the Maoists and the MJF came out on top.

The research result concluded that access to information shapes the villager’s views of the election in either negative or positive way, that the villagers in general did not know the meaning of Constituent assembly election at the time of the research. It revealed general lack of respect for journalist among individuals and groups. It points to the fact that many

journalists are not following ethical code of conducts for media professional, either due to lack of training or political motives, and finally it gives clues to why the media failed in forecasting the election result.

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Acknowledgement

The research and the writing for this thesis is over for now, but it could have continued on for a long time, covering more areas, conducting more interviews and digging deeper into the effects of information access in the rural area of Nepal. The research in Nepal was a mind awakening experience that made me cherish every moment of it.

The culture and the people made the conduct of this research pleasant and possible. The people I have met along the way have given me an everlasting respect of the diverse but generally accepting culture that Nepal represents.

Special thanks go out to my supervisors, my research assistant, and the Indreni Social Forum.

I am grateful for the help and support my Supervisor Larry Hansen has given me in the preparation, conduct and writing process of this thesis. His insight and knowledge writing has challenged me to be constructive and critical in the writing process. I greatly appreciated the help and support that professor Binod Bhatta gave me as my local supervisor in Nepal. His lecturing what good research entails has helped me tremendously in the data collection

process, and he also provided me with valuable contacts that raised the quality of the research.

Thanks to the Indreni Social Forum for helping out with accommodation and assistance in the villages in Nawalparasi district. My greatest support in the field was my research assistant and translator Ananda Khadka who showed great understanding of the research subject and dedication in helping me with the data collection. Again I thank you all.

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Abbreviations

CA – Constituent Assembly GDP – Gross Domestic Product NC – Nepali Congress Party SPA – Seven-Party Alliance

SPSS- Statistical Package for Social Science UNDP – United Nations Development Program

UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNMIN – United Nations Mission in Nepal

UML –United Marxist-Leninist Party VDC – Villages Development Committee

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Nepal is a landlocked country in southern Asia, located between India in the south and China in the North. It has a population of 28.9 million people. The country has a rugged but diverse geography; the terrain varies from the subtropical Terai plains in the south to the great

mountains of the Himalayas to the north. The typography is both a blessing and a curse in that it has provided Nepal with scenic beauty, which attracts tourism and revenue, but also makes it vulnerable to natural disasters. The rugged terrain also creates problems with

communications and infrastructure. Roads and wiring often fall victim to the landslides and flooding. The telephone service is poor, and broadcasting in hill and mountainous terrain is problematic. (CIA 2008)

(ICIMOD 2005a)

Nepal has a great variety of religion, ethnicity and culture. Eighty percent of the population belongs to the Hindu religion and the cast system, which classifies people based on their ethnic background and deeply shape people’s life and opportunities even if it is legally prohibited. The economy is agriculture and tourism based, but the country has great potential in other sectors like hydro power due to its many rivers and streams deriving from the

Himalayas. The importance of agriculture is also reflected in the dispersed population, which is predominantly rural, and accounts for the livelihood income of three-fourths of the

population. The hardship of everyday life for most Nepalese is evident in the high number of unemployment and people living below the poverty line. The poverty line is usually set at one

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dollar a day. Nepal’s unemployment rate was staggering 42 percent as of 2004, and almost 31 percent lived below the poverty line. (CIA 2008)

(ICIMOD 2005b)

With the long list of problems facing everyday life in Nepal it is not hard to imagine that Nepal is among the least developed nations in the world. The 2007/2008 Development Report published by United Nations Development Programme ranks Nepal at 142 out of 177 nations.

Life expectancy at birth, literacy rate, GDP per capita, as well as gender disparity is generally low (UNDP 2007/2008). Reasons for Nepal’s slow rate of development are not only due to geographical or cultural issues. A long history of power struggle and authoritarian rule has restrained the nation from following in the developmental path of its more powerful neighboring countries.

Democracy has a short-lived history in Nepal. It first emerged when the century long Rana reign came to an end in 1951, but democracy would only last for less than a decade. King Mahendra dissolved the parliament in 1960, took absolute power and banned political parties.

A couple of years later he introduced a new form of quasi-democracy called Panchayat system. By that time the banned political parties had gone underground and would not return until 1990. A coalition of political parties organized pro-democracy rallies and pushed for legalization of political parties and democratic elections. They eventually succeeded and the movement would later been known as the people’s movement. A new constitution was written

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and elections were held the following year. Still, the mid-90s saw the start of the “people’s war”, and an insurgency that would last for ten years, killing thousands of people, and internally displace hundreds of thousands. (Freedom House 2007)

The new democracy and the new constitution had faced many problems. Intra-party conflicts were common and a weak government failed in countering the insurgency. The constitution also labeled the king as head of state. The king’s constitutional power was put to use when King Gyanendra dismissed Prime Minister Deuba and assumed executive power himself, in 2002. King Gyanendra had been inaugurated the previous year after most of the royal family had been shot dead by the crown prince, who killed himself in the incidence. Speculations of King Gyanendra being the mastermind behind the royal massacre were common among many people in Nepal, and these rumors did not make King Gyanendra more popular among the people. Pressure by political parties made the king reinstate the Prime Minister in June 2004, but half a year later the king decided to dissolve the parliament, based on what he called incompetent governing, and at the same time declaring a state of emergency. He shut down media outlets and other means of communications. Thousands of party activists, politicians, and journalists were detained. (Freedom House 2007)

Civil reaction to the kings’ use of excessive power led to demonstrations, but it also brought former competitors and enemies together. The decade long insurgency ended when a coalition of political parties, known as the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), negotiated a 12-point

agreement with the Maoist insurgents to bring down King Gyanendra and reinstate democracy. After nationwide strikes and demonstrations in April 2006, the seven-party alliance together with the Maoist succeeded and the king was forced to step down (Raj 2006:28). The SPA and the Maoists worked together on a comprehensive peace agreement that was signed in November 2006. An interim government was established, and a date for elections was set for June 2007.

In order to hold fair and free election and independent election commission was established.

The independent body consisted of five commissioners appointed by the Prime Minister on the basis of the recommendations made by Constitutional Council. The function and responsibilities of the commission was drafted in Article 133 of the Interim Constitution of 2006 stating that the commission was responsible for “conducting, supervising, directing and controlling Constituent Assembly Election and the Local bodies’ election.” The commission

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was in charge of registering voters and to ensure free and fair conduct of the election.(Election Commission 2008)

The EC also listed specific responsibilities that were of interest to this research. These responsibilities was to maintain correct record of voters statistics, make corrections on forms and voter lists, maintain archive of voter lists and voter cards, resolve election related

problems at the introductory level and present them to the commission for action, undertake initial proceedings for selection and decision on the election symbols and execute the

decisions, place requests with the training department for election-related trainings if required, start preliminary efforts on election dates and process, and preparing campaign material for both print and electronic media. (Election Commission 2008)

The EC also stated that they were committed to inclusiveness, meaning that they were devoted to focus on inclusion of “the classes or regions that are backward due to economic, political, geographical, gender, social or other causes and participation of those who have been left out of the nation's mainstream or those who have been deprived of a role.”

(Election Commission 2008) There is definitely a time constraint in achieving these

commitments considering the limited time the EC had been given before the set election date, and the result of the research did address this particular issue.

The government had taken actions to make the election inclusive, includes nominations of candidates for first-past-the post system based on gender, geography and population. The proportional part of the election consisted of proportional selection of Dalits, the oppressed class, indigenous, backward groups, Madhesis and others selected by the parties themselves.

In each of these groups a minimum requirement for women representation was fifty percent.

(Election Commission 2008)

The EC had outlined what roles different stakeholder should play in making the election free, fair and impartial. This includes sharing of information among voters. Voters should

discourage “elements that may have adverse effect on elections”. Civil society should “help create an environment to cast the vote freely and in a terror free environment.” Civil society and political parties should help raise awareness about “election procedures. Political parties should “encourage healthy competition in election campaign,” and “[r]un civil education campaigns raise awareness among the people on election and voting rights.”

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The EC has published a list of criteria’s that ensures free and fair election including protection of the voter’s basic freedoms and human rights before, during and after the election is held.

Other elements were voter confidentiality, and that voters have access to information on political candidates and electoral procedures. That all citizens of the right voting age should are included in the voter's lists. That civil society can conduct voter awareness programs freely, and that “the election procedures are free of any temptation, threats, violence, excesses or punishment”, and voters have access to the polling booths. Political parties should have the right to have open gatherings and the freedom of expression. The Media should be able to freely “gather and disseminate news” concerning the election. Observers and mediators are free to do their duties and the role of the government should be transparent. (Election Commission 2008) Some of these criteria’s will be directly addressed in the research questions and objectives section later in the chapter.

The June election got postponed due to failure in negotiations of a revised election act. The second election date was set for November 22. 2007, but again internal disputes led to yet another postponement. Many blamed the Maoists for constructing this postponement. They left the interim government after the other parties refused to agree to their demands for a pre- election proclamation of a republic and a fully proportional representation in the assembly.

Based on observations made in the field and Nepali news articles, the Maoist walk-out may have been based on a growing anti-Maoist wave of public sentiments in the wake of the election date. The opposition to the Maoists had been significant in the Terai area in the south, were clashes between Maoists and the political party Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum (MJF) frequently happened throughout 2007 and is still the centre of conflict. Meanwhile frustrations and concerns are growing among Nepalese people who had prepared for the previous election dates, and the disbelief was reflected in polls showing that only twenty-two percent of Nepalese did not think that the election would be held in April (Prasai 2008).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

To understand the problems facing the democratic changes in Nepal, it is necessary to look at some recent event that poses challenges for this process. Although the guerrilla war has ended the political tug of war has been raging on. Agreements have been made making it possible for the elections to be held. Democratic change needs to follow democratic principles that will be explored further in the following section.

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6 Political struggle

The seven-party alliance (SPA) and the Maoist have been struggling to reach agreements on different important issues. One issue was how to provide representation in Constituent Assembly Election for ethnic groups and cast, who have previously excluded from Nepali politics. Another issue was to whether or not to declare Nepal a republic before or after the election as it had been previously agreed upon. The pressure on the interim government heightened when the Maoist walked out of the interim government in the wake of the second election date in November 2007.

At the end of December 2007, the parliament voted on an amendment declaring Nepal a republic prior to the April election, contrary to what was agreed upon in the peace agreement.

This vote was a result of a three months long tug of war between the NC and the Maoists. The amendment would be ratified on the first meeting of the new assembly, leaving the king with his present facilities until April. The amendment was passed by a majority vote, ending the political stalemate and bringing new hope in holding the election. (Acharya 2007) The seven- party alliance (SPA) had agreed and signed a 23-point agreement about the composition of the Assembly. The agreement stated that the Constituent Assembly (CA) shall consist of 240 seats designated for first-past-the post electoral system, meaning electing candidates with the most votes, and then 335 seats for proportional electoral system in which women and other disadvantaged will have proportional representation and elected from the parties themselves.

The council of Ministers will in addition nominate 26 seats based on consensus and will include members of groups not represented through the election. (UNMIN 2007) This agreement can be viewed as a compromise between the Maoists, that wanted a fully

proportional electoral system, and the NC who wanted a mixed system. The amendment for declaration of republic was major political victory for the Maoists.

The struggles over electoral system and republic have arguably been a factor leading to the delays in holding the election. The importance of the composition of the new Assembly is the key to include previously excluded groups. Ethnic groups and casts, who lack education and training, will be represented in the new Assembly with the 23-point agreement. The lower cast Dalits, often referred to as ‘untouchables”, were also the backbone of the Maoist insurgency that crippled the country for more than ten years. The interim government has made an effort to include these groups in the new assembly. Giving them a voice will

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strengthen the chance of a peaceful future for Nepal because failure of inclusion will likely lead to new tensions and risk of conflicts, such as the Maoist insurgency, in the future.

Deciding on the electoral system and composition only, will not make Nepal more

“democratic”, because democracy in itself is only the foundation for opportunities for all.

The success of the system relies on how these opportunities are exercised(Sen 1999).

The Maoist rhetoric among its supports has been strong in blaming the King, the United States and India in interfering with the election. They are claiming that their opponents are trying to retrieve the Monarchy, but ever since the royal handover of power to the interim government, the Kings power and influence has gradually gone astray. Based on observations and news coverage, the popular support for the Maoists, has ironically been weakened by the Kings loss of power and influence. According to many analysts the former rebels’ desire for power and influence will most likely not be achieved by attending parliament politics and that notion seems to be the reasons for putting off the November election. The postponement ironically and contrary to what the Maoists’ opposition to the king has only benefited the monarchy. (Mishra 2007) With election successfully executed there is still a clear and present danger of conflicts arising when winners and losers are announced. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is still confined to barracks across Nepal but is intact and ready for combat if they chose to do so, and poses a great threat to the success of the Constituent Assembly. This will be the greatest test of Maoist convergence to parliamentary politics.

Good Governance

The role of the news media is critical in the time of transition. The news media plays an important part in providing Nepalese voters accurate information on the political situation, especially for the disadvantaged groups and women that will have a much greater saying in this election than in the past. The media has great responsibility in promoting good

governance. Good governance for this research will is based on OECD definition of the term.

OECD lists eight factors that combined make for good governance. Participation is listed as the cornerstone of good governance. The sixty percent turnout in the CA election is a positive sign in that respect. Transparency plays an important role in that it provides insight for those influenced by decisions made by government, and it also implies that information is provided through easily accessible media. This factor will be thoroughly explored through this research paper. Effectiveness and efficiency simply implies that results are produced that meets the needs of society and that use of natural resources are sustainable and protects the

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environment. Responsiveness in terms of good governance is the requirement of the institutions and its process to “serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.”

Accountability counts for all institutions, private and public, to be accountable for their actions to those affected by them. Consensus oriented is another factor listed as a component of good governance, and it implies that political parties should focus on cooperation and agreement that will lead to policies that benefits the whole society. The idea is to have a constructive political process rather than a destructive process that only serves to undermine the function of government. Good governance also includes equity, inclusiveness and that rule of law to be followed and enforced. (OECD 2008) The news media plays a role in several of these factors, making its relevance for this study undisputed.

The Media

The news media can play an important part in strengthening transparency, in that it can disseminate information on the actions of the government out to the people, holding them accountable and strengthening the democracy. This however, requires and independent and viable media that is willing to play its part in this system of checks and balance. Nepali media has ever since the first people’s movement and the reinstatement of democracy in 1990 had a tremendous growth in number s of media outlets. The dominant media in Nepal is radio, with its reach and accessibility it can reach more people than other media sources. Today, there are more than 200 FM radio stations in Nepal, according to Dhruba Adhikary, the chairman of Nepal Press Institute. The total numbers of registered newspapers was 4152 by 2006. Most of these were weeklies and monthlies, and dailies only counted for 274 of the total.

(NepalGov. 2006) Although newspapers have a prominent role in Nepali media, like

elsewhere in the world, it is important to take note of the illiteracy percentage, which accounts for about half of the population. However, when news is broadcasted on local radio stations, newspapers are often used as a source for information.

The news media have the ability to educate, to voice people’s concerns, to act as a

“watchdog” that will disclose political wrong doings. It creates a forum for public discussion and promotes civic culture. Studies have also shown that media plays a vital role in conflicts and framing of conflicts. The media can act as an agent of conflict management, and that conflict-sensitive journalism can strive for accuracy and journalistic integrity and at the same time refrain from unnecessary political advocacy. (Achen 2005) However, the term conflict-

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sensitive journalism might be a new concept for many and can also be misunderstood, as some of the finding will reveal later on.

A major problem for Nepali media has been the many reported incidents of journalists being targeted by political groups. The International Press Institute (IPI) made the following remarks on the condition of press freedom in Nepal in 2007:

“While the end of the civil conflict, as well as the 18 July unanimous approval by the Legislature-Parliament of the Right to Information Act, have been important

developments, in the wider media environment, some of the old problems persist and the widespread disrespect for press freedom continues to affects journalists and media outlets. Journalists face threats and violence from a range of different actors, including police, members of political parties, armed groups, the military and strikers.

Representatives of the Maoist insurgency have also issued threats as well as kidnapped and even murdered journalists.”(International Press Institute 2007)

The IPI continues by listing several incidents occurring throughout the year. The killings of two journalists in September and October and the disappearance of another journalist by the name of Prakash Singh Thakuri. The only murder case that was resolved by the police was that of Birendra Shah, a journalist working in the Bara district, which also is talked about in the interviews later on in this thesis. Other killings listed by the IPI was that of Shankar Panthi, a correspondent of the local pro-Maoist Naya Satta Daily, Prakash Singh Thakuri, editor and publisher of the royalist newspaper Aajako Samachar, Pushkar Bahadur Shrestha, editor of the local newspaper Highway Weekly. Besides murders there have been several incidents of threats, abductions, and beatings. The IPI concludes that all these incidents show little understanding of the importance of press freedom by the groups who are responsible for carrying out the attacks. The IPI stated that they were“…concern about the press freedom violations taking place in the country, particularly as impartial and independent media coverage is essential for holding free and fair elections and promoting the democratic process.” (International Press Institute 2007)

The measures taken by the interim government and organizations working for the elections have not been efficient in preparing people for the polls, and they have failed in keeping up with their own deadlines. If you add the corruption as another factor contributing to people’s distrust of politicians and hopes for carrying out a fair election, the situation is, to put it bluntly, uneasy. Transparency International, which publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index, ranked Nepal on 131 out of 179 nations. The index is measured based on the degree to

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which corruption is perceived to exist among politicians or other public officials based on data provided by country experts and businesses. (TI 2007) Newly democratized countries and developing countries, such as Nepal, are especially vulnerable to corruption within parties because economic and political institutions are not yet secure. This type of corruption and the scandals that often follows will over time lead to ”voter cynicism and disillusionment with the political system, thus threatening the viability of democracy.” (Spector 2005:28)

The purpose of the election is to put together an assembly that will draft a new constitution for Nepal. The problem with the election and the newly acquired democratic freedoms is the lack of transparency within the interim government; many people do not know what the election is all about. The lack of knowledge is true for the areas that have been investigated in this research, and the majority of the responsibility for the knowledge gap should be placed with the government and the independent election commission. Other problems are, as mentioned earlier, the poor infrastructure that is minimizing the flow of information to Nepali voters in the rural areas, the high illiteracy rate, and cultural notions of class and cast that makes it hard to realize once own political power and potential.

Democracy is arguably a term that has been misused by regimes that on the contrary do not want what democracy entitles, freedom of expression. It is important that the meaning of democracy is clearly defined and understood for the purpose of this study. David Beetham, a professor of politics at the University of Leeds, presented two main principles of democracy that could be applied to both direct and representative democracy. These principles are

“popular control” and “political equality”, and according to Beetham, work best in “small groups or associations” where all members of the group have equal right and freedom to express their opinions and to vote. In a society for example where the group is considerably larger, democracy is realized through entrusted representatives who are elected for practical consideration of space and time. The people exercise control, not over the decision making, but over the decision makers that they have entrusted in. Beetham says that control that the voters have over these representatives is in the “decision makers who act in their place, [and]

is mediated rather than immediate.” Beetham elaborates on the issue by claiming that “one of the criteria of democratic society is that its associational life should be internally democratic, as well as that is should provide the socio-economic conditions for political equality to be realized in practice.” (Beetham 1999:28)

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Beetham highlights two very important ideas that seem to be lacking in the two areas that have been studied in this research. Exercising control over the decision-makers and not the decision making is the matter of transparency and popular control, and this is a matter of having basic knowledge of the political system that the voters are a part of. Feedback from villagers suggests that many believe once they have voted for a politician, their duty is done, and the politician is left to do whatever he or she pleases. Many villagers have not been able to comprehend the idea that the politicians they give a seat to in parliament, are their

representatives and should speak on their behalf, raise their concerns and be accountable to the people that gave them the vote in the first place. What Beetham suggest when saying the provision of socio-economic condition, he implies having the equal means of making a stand on political issues. This is a major task to achieve in a country like Nepal, because it would require major improvement of infrastructure and education. The ideal situation is the situation were all people, no matter what cast, gender or geographical location should have equal access to information of political importance so that they can by themselves make a well inform decision on what political stance they support.

These two principles can and should ideally be enforced by the news media. It is apparent that a functional democratic system is dependent on a free and responsible press that will work as a fourth estate. Nepal faces a major problem due to its lack of infrastructure, difficult terrain, and high illiteracy rate limiting the access of the media to vast parts of the population;

this in turn causes problems in the preparation for the Constituent Assembly election as it limits transparency and public awareness.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The king announced that “all power will be given back to the people” after he was forced to step down in 2006 marking a return to democracy. This research is exploring how much of this power, if any, have actually been given back to the people, and if not what implications will it have on the election. This study looks at how far the transfer of these rights has come in two different geographical areas of rural Nepal in the wake of a Constituent Assembly

election. It will provide survey data from the village level that can be generalized for the two particular areas, and it will present qualitative data drawn from different actors involved in the political process leading up to the election.

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The purpose of this study will be to measure what degree newly democratic freedoms have been provided to the rural poor and disadvantaged groups. The study will explore what

channels of information are available, and how they make sense of the information. The study will also try to disclose possibly existing information control and manipulation that will undermine the legitimacy of the coming election. The Nepali constitution of 1990 stated in Article 16 that: “every citizen shall have the right to demand and receive information on any matter of public importance” (Yadav 2001). The article and its importance to workings of democracy is mostly like going to be incorporated into the new constitution that will be written by the elected members of the Constituent Assembly as Nepal strive to move forward for democratic change. The study will determine whether or not the right of receiving

information has been protected in the village, in simple terms, asking if the villagers are getting accurate and informative information on the Constituent Assembly election.

The interim government adapted a list of policies that they would focus on for the three coming years. This list included human rights, peace and good governance, local development and decentralization, inclusive development, and regional and balanced development. The thesis will focus on the human rights, peace and good governance part of the policies emphasized by the interim government. The actions they include a focused on the mass communication medium for the purpose of distributing information among politicians as well as ordinary citizens, also saying that information technology that will be made extensive in civil services.

1.4 Description of Research Area

The selection of the specific study areas were made in collaboration with my local supervisor, Professor Binod Bhatta, upon my arrival in Kathmandu. The areas were carefully selected in accordance with my objectives, which will be described in the next section, and had to follow strict safety precautions due to the increased violence in certain areas. The goal was to select two very geographically different rural areas with focus on ethnicity and culture.

The first research area that was selected was Rasuwa districts. This district is located in the central development region close to the Chinese Tibetan boarder. The research area was situated between the middle and high mountain ecological zone of Nepal. and has a total population of 44 731 according to the national census of 2001(Central Bureau of Statistics

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2001b). One of the major ethnic groups in the area was the Tamangs, who accounts for almost five percent of the total population in Nepal. They belong to Tibeto-Burman language family and have a rich culture and history. They mainly reside in the northern part of the Central Region, are generally Buddhists, and consist of more than seventy ethnic subgroups found all over Nepal. (NEFIN 2008a) Their distinct language was in some cases a challenge in the villages that we visited, some of the respondents only spoke Tamang, and my research assistant could only translate Nepali, forcing us to assistance from bilingual people in the village. Another issue related to the research was the a report coming from United Nations office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reporting on disruption of a donor supported voter education program by Young Communist League (YCL) in September just a few weeks before our arrival in the district. (UN 2008)

The three villages in Rasuwa district that were included in the survey research were located in difficult hilly terrain. This made them vulnerable to natural hazard such as landslides, which all of the selected villages had experienced. The roads to the villages were destroyed making it impossible for vehicles to reach the villages. Other challenges we were aware of was that we were conducting the survey at the end of the millet harvest, so many of the participants were out in the field, however, the once we asked were happy to take a break from the hard work and answer our questionnaire, and we got accommodations from the locals so that we could stay a few days in the field.

Research area 1 Research area 2

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After completing the survey, we returned to Kalikasthan. Kalikasthan was the biggest village in the area and was connected to the main road. This village had a temporary VDC office set up since the old office had been burnt down by Maoists. The VDC secretary was a young man in his thirties who was more than happy to share his story about what had happened in the past, and about the conflict and the political stalemate that was going on at the time. The VDC secretary introduced me to other important people in the area, a Maoist, a local UML leader and a teacher, which we interviewed for the qualitative analysis.

The second research area was in Nawalparasi, a district situated in the Western Region bordering India to the south. Nawalparasi lies in the Terai plains. Nawalparasi, like many other districts in Nepal, is rural and the economy is based on farming. The district has a high number of people belonging to the Tharu ethnic group living there. This ethnic group has a total population of about 1.5 million people, and is well known for their farming in the Terai area. (NEFIN 2008b) Tharus have their own language and customs, which again posed some challenge in collecting the data. Fortunately, we had help from a local NGO, who assisted us with people that spoke the language and had knowledge about the area.

The research team was settled in a small highway village called Bhutaha Chowk, and from there we would travel to the three selected villages. The area is fairly well developed, but we did run into some problems with a roadblock upon our arrival. As mentioned in the

introductory chapter the areas in Terai has been the most violent, due to ethnic uprising, and on the express bus that I took from Kathmandu was stopped 3 km away from the destination.

Since no motorized vehicles were allowed to drive on the road, the last leg of the journey had to be continued on foot before arriving in Bhutaha Chowk.

The three villages were selected based on the villager’s socio-economic status. In Bhutaha Chowk, we were assisted by the Indreni Development Forum, a local NGO that provided us with three translators and information on the different sites. The first village was we covered was Anandanagar, and was one of the poorest in the district. The people living there were landless had had built small huts out of straw and dirt. We were told that they had just

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recently built a small road to the village, but there were no electricity. Scattered land surrounding the settlement was used for farming so that they could grow some food.

The two other villages, Jamunia and Senrari, were a bit further away from our base camp, and were reached by bus. These two villages lay side by side and were much more developed than the first village. They had a few shops and tee houses and a large government office within its perimeter. This office offered us accommodation and a place to stay the night. The villages had electricity and were connected to a larger road. Life in these villages was clearly different than up in the Himalayas, which made me suspect differences in the responses from the participants and the key informants. Due to their improved infrastructure these people would probably have better access to information and a better understanding of the Constituent Assembly election. This presumption will be elaborated in the research objectives and questions section.

The purpose of the study was to find out what mechanisms rural poor use to voice their concerns and to determine how prepared these people were for the Constituent Assembly election. It hopes to highlight how well the current government has been in adapting their listed policies. The research for the study was conducted in two geographically and culturally different areas described in the section above, and will this research is meant to compare the situation in the areas and to identify factors of importance. The research tools that we used were a questionnaire, which will be thoroughly described in the methods chapter. To be more specific about the purpose and objectives of the research, this next section will clarify what we are looking for and why.

1.5 Research Objectives and Questions

The purpose of the study is to look at how the grand political scheme works in practice on the village level, and will determine the impact of these political decisions for in the lives of those people who are affected by it. My objectives for carrying out this research are to:

1. To prove or disapprove the importance of providing information to the villagers and its effect on creating political awareness and understanding of the Constituent Assembly election.

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2. To see how access to or lack of information affects the villager’s attitude towards the election.

3. To disclose factors that undermine the villager’s right to accurate information on the Constituent Assembly election.

Based on the objectives listed above and my presumptions about the situation in Nepal the following hypothesis was constructed and will either be rejected or accepted at the end of this study:

“Access to information in the village will determine what attitude its members hold towards the Constituent Assembly election and their understanding of democracy.”

The research seeks to answer the following key question:

“What impact does access of information have on rural people’s attitude towards the Constituent Assembly election and their understanding of democracy?”

In addition to the hypothesis and the key research question a list of supplementary questions that are of interest to the purpose of the study and will help answer the key question are as follows:

1. Have the villagers received sufficient training to participate in the Constituent Assembly election?

2. Do the villagers have access to information that will help them make an informed decision on what candidate/party represents their interests?

3. What actions have been taken to provide political representation for disadvantaged groups?

4. Does the concept democracy have a different meaning between the different stakeholders?

5. What expectations do the villagers have of the election?

6. What channels of information are available to the villagers?

7. Can journalists work safely without restraint in the village?

8. Is the flow of information controlled or manipulated? If so, how aware are people about this, and how do they cope with it?

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1.6 Significance of study

As discussed earlier in the chapter functional democracy relies on active participation in the political process by its citizens. The success of the Constituent Assembly will rely on proper preparation and execution of the election. This study will focus on how the preparation part of the election has been executed in two culturally and geographically different districts of the central region of Nepal. It will take into account the villager’s own perception of the ongoing process of democratic change in Nepal, as well as the perceptions of other stakeholders that affect this process in one way or another.

It is important to mention that the results from the study cannot be generalized for the whole of Nepal, but will provide findings that might be an issue, not only Nepal as a whole, but for all nations that are in a process of democratic change. The result will hopefully shed light on issues that are important for nations undergoing democratic change and be used as a tool for planning and executing development projects that seeks to improve access of information among disadvantaged people in rural areas, and work for the purpose of awareness rising among the people who needs it the most.

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1.7 Organization of thesis

The structure of this thesis is designed to first provide necessary background information to understand and get a clear understanding of the situation that Nepal is in at the time of the research and what factors have contributed in creating the situation in the first place. The next step is to state the problems, which then drives the research questions and creates a hypothesis that then can either be confirmed or rejected based on the results from the research. The next chapter will focus on the literature and theories that further explains the wider concepts used and the importance of them in relation to the research. In the third chapter the methodology of the research will be described, showing how the data was retrieved, the problems encountered during the research, and what implications does it have on the result of the research. In the last chapter the results of the survey, interviews and observations will discussed before making a conclusion for the key research question. These results will answer the research questions and accept or reject the hypothesis. The conclusion will then provide the research

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with some basic recommendations that may benefit organizations working for awareness rising about democratic rights.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this section literature and theories supporting this research will be review and explained in relation to the research. Democracy, freedom of speech, and good governance are the main focus of the research and will be thoroughly explored in this chapter. My research is deductive in the sense that it presumes that democracy is the best form of governance for economic development and improving the livelihood of its citizens as it has been described by scholars such as Amartya Sen and others that will be discussed in this chapter.

2.1 Why democracy

It is important to include the works of Amartya Sen in a development research looking at a democratic transition in a developing country, because the question if democracy is the best conditions for development is widely discussed among scholars in the field of development.

The reason why I have chosen to include Sen’s writing on the issue is because I support his view on democracy and development.

Sen, an Indian economist and a former Nobel Peace Prize winner in Economic Science, is a strong voice for individual freedom in promoting economic development. His work

“Development as Freedom” highlights the importance of basic political and liberal rights. Sen outline the importance of democracy in eradicating famine, secure economic rights, and promote development.

Sen sketches out three different considerations of the importance of democratic liberties, first, their “direct importance in human living associated with basic capabilities” (referring to active participation in political and social life), secondly, their “instrumental role in enhancing the hearing that people get in expressing and supporting their claims to political attention”, and third, their “constructive role in the conceptualization of ‘needs’”.(Sen 1999:148)

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Although Sen strongly argues for democracy, in the sense of individual rights and liberties, as the best form of government, and he underlines its importance in that “democracy has to be seen as a creating a set of opportunities… and their effectiveness would depend on how they are exercised”. (Sen 1999:155) This is evident in the observation I collected during my

fieldwork in Nepal. Although, the preparations done by government and NGO’s were lacking, or at best severely limited, people that had the opportunity in getting information and actively participating in the local politics but hardly ever did so. Local radio programming transmitted on some occasion programs on the election issues, and some the villagers had received

election training, but did not share their information with others. Reasons for this political passivism will be discussed later in this chapter.

Sen argues that democracy is the superior form of government when it comes to development in that evidently no nation with a democratic form of governance have ever experienced substantial famines. Famines “have never materialized in any country that is independent, that goes to elections regularly, that has opposition parties to voice criticisms and that permits newspapers to report freely and question the wisdom of government policies without censorship.”(Sen 1999:152)

This research takes Sen’s position in that democracy is in the interest of the Nepalese. The Constitutional Assembly election is a test of Nepalese’s democratic rights. The research will look at factors that will affect the results of the election and its importance for those

disadvantaged groups who in the past have had little saying in political matters. The research seeks to uncover undemocratic factors threatening the legitimacy and principles of fair and free elections.

Another scholar that seeks to provide evidence that supports democracy as the most ideal form of governance for increased development and improved quality of life is Professor Yi Feng. Feng’s work “Democracy, Governance, and Economic Performance” has combined political and economic science to prove “whether or not democracy or political freedom contributes to quality of life by providing a useful and constructive political infrastructure.”

(Feng 2003:1) Feng looks at both the direct and indirect effect of political institutions on economic growth, and presents data that compares the rapid and stable economic growth of the G7 countries and countries in the Asia pacific with the weak growth of countries in sub- Sahara Africa and Latin-America in the last few decades. Feng claims that the regional

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similarities between the G7 and countries in the Asia pacific and that of countries in sub- Sahara Africa and Latin-America is related to political and economic regularities. (Feng 2003:9) He presents a theoretical model arguing that people’s economic decisions are based on “the assessment of the political environs for the marketplace”, meaning that economic growth depends on “three political variables: political freedom, political stability, and policy certainty” (Feng 2003:14) Feng presents empirical evidence by showing that political freedom and democracy improves life through promoting economic growth, reduced income

inequality, and improved education. This is a strong argument for the promotion of democracy in a developing country like Nepal.

2.2. Democratic transition

After establishing why democracy is important based on the writings of the scholars described above, it is relevant for the research to look at possibilities and implications changing from autocracy to democracy. Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman are two scholars that have analyzed the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy based on extensive literature on the topic in their book “The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions”. They ask the following three questions; in what way will “economic conditions affect the capacity of ruling elites to determine the timing and nature of their withdrawal”. How will “the way in which the economic and institutional legacies of the transition affect economic policymaking in new democratic regimes.” And finally how will it “explore the conditions under which market- oriented reform and policy can reconciled and consolidated.”(Haggard & Kaufman 1995:4)

They argue that it is hard to get political or policy outcomes from economic cleavages and interests without consideration of the institutional context in which groups operate. Haggard and Kaufman provides and interesting observation to the debate by claiming that the ability of political leaders to maintain in power relies partly on economic performance and that accounts for both democratic and authoritarian leaders. (Haggard & Kaufman 1995:10) The main difference between authoritarian and democratic rule, according to Haggard and Kaufman, is that democratic rule guarantees opposition and a system of replacement through political competition in elections. This system ensures voter rights, freedom of speech and basic civil liberties, keeping these principles in mind, democratic transitions take place when forces that operate within these rules forces the authoritarian power to step down. When a new

government “face distributive pressure from groups re-entering the political arena,” as well as

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questions of loyalty from groups of the old system, the economic legacy of the previous system and the nature of emerging political institution will determine the severity and capacity to respond to the challenges that arises in the transition. (Haggard & Kaufman 1995:13-14)

Democracy in itself could be argued to go against social justice because it relies on majority rule. The political scientist Ian Shapiro has tried to describe how these two concepts interfere with each other in his book “Democratic Justice”. The way to counter the interference

between democracy and social justice is to place democracy in the center of social relations so that distribution of authority becomes the focal point and not distribution of assets. The reason for thinking of justice and democracy in the context of this research is that the democratic process in Nepal was fueled by injustice and belief in that democratic change would end autocratic rule that is viewed as the reason for the injustice.

Shapiro asks why democratic justice is important and seeks to prove it by giving examples of how the concept of democracy has been used by revolutionaries in past revolutions. He points to the fall of the Soviets Union and the Eastern European communist states, where the

revolutionaries commonly shared resentment to the communist system and used the appeal for democracy as way to end the system. He points to the end of apartheid in South Africa were those who fought for democracy identified it with ending apartheid(Shapiro 1999:2). This idea of using the concept democracy as the means to fight what is seen as unjust is relevant for what has happened in Nepal with the decade long insurgency and the uprising of April 2006. The fight against autocratic rule by KingGyanendra was organized and fought by political parties and groups that have labeled their struggle against the king as a fight for democracy. The implication with this systematic use of the concept is, according to Shapiro, that “[t]he imperative to get rid of it[ an oppressive system] inevitably shaped their

perceptions of what democracy is about.”, and the problem that arise when the opposition comes to power is that “[b]ecause democratic ideals are forged out of reactive struggles… on ascending to power, democratic oppositions bear the antithetical traces of the orders they replace.” (Shapiro 1999:2) The proposition of what democracy means to those partaken in the struggle for justice, and how the new government might have adapted some of unjust

character of the old system is included in the field research and will be described in the later chapters.

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Like Sen, Shapiro has a sense of what democracy means. They both agree on the function of democracy in that it is a system of opportunities, or in Shapiro’s own words “a subordinate foundational good, designed to shape the power dimension of collective activities without subverting their legitimate purpose.“ Nepal has been through democratic changes in the past without changing the injustice suffered by large sentiments of its people. This frustration, Shapiro explains, is due to the fact that “…achieving political democracy does not guarantee broad advances toward greater social justice” in some cases it might even lead to an opposite outcome, this in turn leads to popular descent in democratic conviction. The challenge is to discover a form of democracy that promotes justice. (Shapiro 1999:18-19)

2.3. The importance of communication

Communication scholar Ralph Negrine highlights the role media plays and should play in his book titled “The Communication of Politics”. Negrine writes about the implications of the role mass media plays in creating informed and active citizenry. Negrine looks at media’s role in a historical perspective adding the perspective of the former Director-General of BBC Charles Curran who believed that the broadcaster’s role was to win public interest in public issues and in doing so it would increase public understanding. The media had, in his view, a duty in providing rational and balanced news that would provide voters with basic judgment on public policies. This role was, according to Curran, necessary for successful democratic governing.

Negrine argues that Curran’s view of media’s purpose reflects the postwar period in which public broadcasters had a sense of mission in contrast to the modern commercialized mass media. The concept “public sphere” represents the structure of the media that provide the public with relevant information that will affect the public good. The ideal liberal public sphere is a structure consisting of equally well-informed entities allowing for rational discussion making and that is capable of resolving differences without using “non-coercive means”. By well-informed entities, Curran meant, individuals who had received sufficient information and were able to take equal part in the public discussion. In the real world this is undermined by corporate and political ownership and influence which often is the reality of mass media institutions. The public sphere that is created by the mass media institutions is undermined by the media itself in that it requires the institutions to choose what relevant and important information is.

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Negrine discards the earlier thinking of Curran due the changes that took place in Curran’s Great Britain from the sixties until now. A society that was characterized by “cohesion and stability” have become much more diversified and that there has been a fundamental change in the organization of that society (Negrine 1996:4) But the modern British society that

Negrine describes is very different from that of today’s Nepal. Nepal is, not only in a post-war period, but also in the middle of a process of transition from autocratic rule to representative democracy, which is also a part of an undergoing peace process. In that respect it is

fundamentally important for the media to create the public sphere in which the citizens are well-informed and participate in rational discussions, especially ahead of the Constituent Assembly election which will influence the lives of all Nepalese people in the years to come.

“…the better the media systems are able to produce and distribute information, the better the other parts of the system works and the more likely the citizens can begin to make sense of the world and engage with it. Unfortunately, this particular formulation of the connecting link places responsibility on the media to ensure the successful workings of the democratic process. Little attention is paid to the wishes, desires or requirements of the citizens themselves. Moreover, little consideration is given to changes within the structure and processes of government which not only limit the effectiveness of the media but also raise important questions about the rationale for participation in the political system itself.” (Negrine 1996:6)

Negrine refers to some alarming trends in the western democracy where non-elected bodies have taken over traditional government responsibilities leading to less control by the elected representatives of the people leaving the citizens with less power to make decisions and therefore also undermining the role to the citizens in taking part in the democratic process.

The implications that Negrine refers to is that the relationship between the citizens and the people in power has become too complex to be illustrate in a simple way. Negrine mentions what he calls the “supra-national body” the one structure that regulates all domestic and social activity and is so vast that it is difficult to identify who is responsible for what, this in turn creates problems for the media that have to keep track of who, where, what and why. Negrine coins this situation as difficult but crucial, because in this view the media is responsible for highlighting concerns and issues relevant to the people so that they can put pressure on the government and other powerful organizations. “In these ways, the media take on a significant role to articulate, to organize, to voice opinions of the public and to force others to act.” This role differs from the intended role of the “public sphere” where the main reason is to create a

“forum for rational debate.” (Negrine 1996) What Negrine has described here is what I think

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of as the fourth estate, the one estate that keeps the others accountable, and is crucial for the workings of democracy.

Negrine correctly points out that in the modern governance the media has to articulate public concern in order to keep check on the governing bodies. (Negrine 1996:9) As a consequence of media’s growing responsibilities, it becomes important to look at the media institutions and ask if they are ready to deal with monitoring a wider area of governance and foresee problems that will arise in the future.

Media has been a part of development strategies in the past, but not always able to produce a satisfying effect. Media was a part of the modernization thinking, by focusing on

modernization the third world could developed faster and catch up with the first world.

Srinivas R. Melkote and H. Leslie Steeves are two scholars in the field of communication and research who have specifically looked at development communication. Their book

“Communication for Development in the Third World” examines the discourse of

modernization and its practical impact on developing countries. It is a critique of dominant knowledge systems and what they describe as the truth claim of modernism. The book explores the scholarship and practice of communication for development and empowerment in the third world.

Melkote and Steevens clarify the meaning of communication, development and empowerment in the first chapter in order to have a base for analysis throughout the work. To them

development communication is “communication concerned with the role of communication in social change” (20), but they point out that this broad definition could also describe other fields of communication. Melkote and Steeves describes the difficulties of definitions due to the events of the past decades were

“[t]he end of the Cold War, alongside greater polarization along ethnic, religious and nationalistic lines, increased transnationalization, greatly increased information flow and influence, and a growing consciousness of marginalized groups and diminishing resources have challenged and changed the issues and questions.” (Melkote & Steeves 2001:20)

Melkote and Steeves’ book describes how mass communication and they way we think of mass communication has radically changed since the days of the simple communication models, and thereby have added much more sophisticated hypothesis in the field of communication. Instead of only seeing mass communication as having vast power in

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informing and influencing the public, scholars are now being more specific in new theories on the role of mass media.

“New information technologies have inspired new and more elaborate arguments about the power of these technologies in deliver information, set agendas, persuade, socialize, educate, satisfy myriad audience needs, and democratize societies.”(Melkote

& Steeves 2001:31)

Still at the same time, some scholars within the field of social scientists are critical to the isolation of communication from political and economic processes, claiming that there is a link between communication and culture, “in the idea of communication as shared meaning, versus information transmission or persuasion”. (Melkote & Steeves 2001:31)

The above idea also emphasize the issue of media in reinforcing dominant values among the audience that sometimes is provided with the illusion of balance. “There are many textual conventions that powerful groups use to reinforce dominant messages, conventions supported by standard traditions and values of media practice.” According to the authors these practices are for example “making light of non-mainstream views, undercounting those with alternative views… and an over-reliance on government and corporate resources.” Such tradition stresses event news over context, focusing on conflict more than consensus and choosing individuals over groups. (Melkote & Steeves 2001:31-32)

The authors present three different views of development, namely modernization, critical perspective and liberation perspective. However, they do not support a particular view; rather they state that they overlap each other and needs to be all considered because they all provide

“valuable insights and arguments.” They also provide their own definition of empowerment in line with scholar such as Paolo Freire, Rozario and Rowland. The authors define

empowerment as “the process by which individuals, organizations, and communities gain control and mastery over social and economic conditions; over democratic participation in their communities; and over their stories.” (Melkote & Steeves 2001:37) This definition is also helpful in explaining what empowerment means in the context of this thesis, as it is focused on the democratic participation in the local areas being researched.

According to the authors “empowerment has direct consequence on the objectives of development communication”, and by this they imply that it is not enough for delivery of information to promote empowerment. The focus should be on empowerment of

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“marginalized individuals, groups and organizations,” through grassroots involvement social change can be promoted on the part of marginalized. Furthermore, the emphasis of

communication should be on the organizational value and participatory social action.

Evidence of the importance of this emphasis is traced in the findings derived from the research of this thesis. (Melkote & Steeves 2001:38-39)

Melkote and Steeves offers a way of viewing development communication by looking at it from the liberation perspective. The development communication should support the goal that the purpose of development is to provide freedom from oppression, meaning that this form of communication should not be exchange of messages, but “emancipatory

communication”. All people should participate, based on the assumption that “once people get in touch with their sources of oppression as well as their sources of power, they will be able to find solutions.” This view draws parallels to the workings of functional democracies and thus is meaningful for the purpose of the thesis. (Melkote & Steeves 2001:39)

Melkote and Steeves goes on to describe communication approaches from the early bullet theories to more complex models like the Shannon and Weaver’s model. They also touch upon theory of minimal effects of the mass media, referring to research done conducted by Lazarsfeld, Berelson and Gaudet who conducted research on mass media effect on voters in the 1940 U.S. election This research concluded that even when the majority had somewhat been exposed to the media messages, individuals were more politically influenced by their peers and that had little impact on their political decisions. The results also revealed that some people are more influenced by the media than others, and in turn these people, label opinion leaders, influenced the opinion of people in their communities. Media, thus, did not directly influence but rather indirectly influence through the opinion leaders. Other theorist limiting the effect of the media, according to the authors, was Carl Hovland who researched war propaganda and discovered that it was generally ineffective due to some defense mechanisms that was classified as “selective exposure, selective perception, and selective retention.”

Hovland findings was later supported by Klapper that also concluded that “people expose themselves to messages selectively.” (Melkote & Steeves 2001:109-110)

The authors describe the free flow ideology is commonly used by development agencies and the United Nations deriving from the period following WWII. Melkote and Steeves critically looking at many of the modernization linked approaches for development, and the free flow

Communicating The Constituent Assembly Election In Nepal