Nepal is a country with geographical diversity, which had been practicing a unitary form of government since its unification by Prithvi Narayan Shah. However, this system was not able to achieve the development goals of the country and had been described as an "exclusive form of rule" by its critics.[ citation needed ] Federalism has been seen as the answer to solving regional inequality and reducing economic, social, and religious discrimination[ citation needed ]; the country has transformed into a federal structure as a result.
Nepal has been a federal democratic republican state since 28 May 2008 (15th Jestha, 2065 BS). According to the concept of a federal system, Nepal has been divided into 7 provinces, 77 districts and 753 local levels. Now each province has a separate government along with the federal government at the centre.
In the aftermath of the 2007 People's Revolt II, the 240-year monarchy was abolished in the 5th amendment of the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2063. [1] [2] The amendment was the first document to mention Nepal officially as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. It envisioned federalism as a prominent feature for a new Nepal. [3]
The Maoist party was the catalyst for bringing forth federalism and inclusion. Other major parties that supported the move include the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and the Nepali Congress, whereas the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which was only able to enter the parliament under the Proportional Representation scheme, has come out in opposition to the prospect of federalism as well bringing back the monarchy and declaring Nepal as a Hindu nation. [4] [5] [6]
Nepal had been practicing a unitary form of the government under the Shah rulers (Prithivi Narayan Shah). However this system was unable to support development of the country and was seen as an "exclusive" form of rule. [7]
The power of the provinces and the federal government are defined by the constitution.
Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multi-religious, and multilingual country. The most spoken language is Nepali followed by several other ethnic languages.
The politics of Nepal functions within the framework of a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and their cabinet, while legislative power is vested in the Parliament.
The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in South Asia, formed in 1768 by the expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lasted until 2008 when the kingdom became the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. It was also known as the Gorkha Empire, or sometimes Asal Hindustan. Founded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha monarch who claimed to be of Khas Thakuri origin, it existed for 240 years until the abolition of the Nepalese monarchy in 2008. During this period, Nepal was formally under the rule of the Shah dynasty, which exercised varying degrees of power during the kingdom's existence.
Surya Bahadur Thapa was a Nepali politician and a five-time Prime Minister of Nepal. He served under three different kings in a political career lasting more than 50 years.
The Nepali Congress is the oldest democratic socialist political party in Nepal and the largest party in the country. The party has 870,106 members as of the party's 14th general convention in December 2021 making them the largest party by membership in Nepal. Currently the party has started online membership since the emergence of youth leaders in vital post to bring youths into the party.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (Nepali: नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (एकीकृत मार्क्सवादी-लेनिनवादी), romanized: nēpāla kamyuniṣṭa pārṭī (ēkīkr̥ta mārksavādī-lēninavādī); abbr. CPN (UML)) is a communist political party in Nepal and the largest party in the current ruling coalition government. The party emerged as one of the major parties in Nepal after the end of the Panchayat era.
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party is a constitutional monarchist and Hindu nationalist political party in Nepal.
The Nepalese democracy movement was the combination of a series of political initiatives and movements from the 20th century to 2008 that advocated the establishment of representative democracy, a multi-party political system and the abolition of monarchy in Nepal. It has seen three major movements, the Revolution of 1951, Jana Andolan and Loktantra Andolan which ultimately abolished the Shah monarchy, transitioned Nepal towards a republic and reintroduced multi-party bicameral democracy.
Constituent Assembly elections were held in Nepal on 10 April 2008, having been postponed from earlier dates of 7 June 2007 and 22 November 2007. The Constituent Assembly was planned to draft a new constitution and therefore decide, amongst other things, on the issue of federalism. The number of eligible voters was around 17.5 million. The Constituent Assembly was originally set to have a term of two years.
Rastriya Janamorcha is a political party in Nepal. It was originally founded in 1995 as the legal front of Communist Party of Nepal (Masal). Former Deputy Prime Minister, Chitra Bahdur KC is the chairman of the party.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal is a Hindu right-wing, cultural conservative party. It previously existed as royalist political party in Nepal from 2006 to 2016. The party was formed as a splinter of Rastriya Prajatantra Party in 2006 and was later reunified in 2016. The party was reformed in 2022 by Kamal Thapa.
The King of Nepal (traditionally known as the Mahārājdhirāja i.e. Great King of Kings; it can also be translated as "Sovereign Emperor" was Nepal's head of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008. He served as the head of the Nepalese monarchy—Shah Dynasty. The monarchy was abolished on 28 May 2008 by the 1st Constituent Assembly. The subnational monarchies in Mustang, Bajhang, Salyan, and Jajarkot were abolished in October of the same year.
Kamal Thapa is a Nepalese politician belonging to Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal.
Rabindra Nath Sharma was a Nepalese politician, leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Minister of Finance of Nepal from 1997 to 1998.
General elections were held in Nepal in two phases on 26 November and 7 December 2017 to elect the 275 members of the fifth House of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal.
On 7 June 2017, Sher Bahadur Deuba got elected as the new Prime Minister of Nepal and therefore formed the new Governmental Cabinet of Nepal Deuba's candidacy was supported by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal, the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal, the Nepal Loktantrik Forum, the Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal and several small parties represented in the Nepalese Parliament after a power-sharing deal with the Communist Party of Nepal, who also supported Deuba's candidacy. After being sworn in, Deuba formed a new government in a coalition with the parties that supported his election. On 17 October 2017, in preparation for the Nepalese legislative election, the Communist Party of Nepal decided to cooperate with the Communist Party of Nepal. For this, all of their ministers left the cabinet after Prime Minister Deuba was prepared to dismiss them.
Rastriya Prajantantra Party (Samyukta) (Nepali: राष्ट्रिय प्रजातन्त्र पार्टी (संयुक्त)), literally the National Democratic Party (United) and abbreviated RPP (U), was a political party in Nepal. It was formed on 6 August 2017 by Pashupati Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana after splitting from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party as the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Democratic). On 31 January 2019, it merged with the Unified Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nationalist), another splinter group of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, to form Samyukta.
General elections were held in Nepal on 20 November 2022 to elect the 275 members of the House of Representatives. There were two ballots in the election; one to elect 165 members from single-member constituencies via FPTP, and the other to elect the remaining 110 members from a single nation-wide constituency via party-list proportional representation.
Prithvi Jayanti is an observance annually celebrated on 11 January to commemorate the birth of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who was the first king of unified Nepal. In the mid-18th century, he set out to unify the small kingdoms which would become present-day Nepal. During the observance, many people add a garland to statues of Shah, participate in the parades, and remember his contribution to Nepal. Prithvi Jayanti was celebrated as a public holiday from 1951 until its abolishment in 2006. However, some local governments in Gorkha District and Nuwakot District have declared Prithvi Jayanti to be a public holiday. In 2023, the government declared it as a national holiday.
Rajendra Prasad Lingden is a Nepali politician and former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal. He also served as the Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. He is also the chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP). He served as a member of the 1st Federal Parliament of Nepal from March 2018. He was re-elected in 2022 in the 2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal.