We should advocate for directly elected executive head: FM Sharma

Kathmandu, Nov. 20

Finance Minister (FM) Janardan Sharma has advocated for the government system of directly elected executive in the country.

"This country needs an executive directly elected by the people. It will give him/her the opportunity to execute the vision for five years," he said while speaking at a programme organised by the party’s Panchthar-Kathmandu Contact Coordination Committee on Saturday in Kathmandu.

This idea of this system of governance was floated by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) during the first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008, following the restoration of democracy in 2006. As the other big parties like the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML did not endorse the idea, it couldn't gain much momentum.

The MC should raise the issue one again, said FM Sharma.

However, at present the main opposition party CPN-UML is in a mood to endorse the idea of directly elected executive.

FM Sharma also said the election system in Nepal has become dearer and suggested that his party advocate for this agenda.

"Current election system doesn't encourage the poor, oppressed, Dalits and marginalised on their own as it has become very expensive. Therefore, there is a need for a fully proportional representative system in the country," he said.

Likewise, the Finance Minister said that community capital was the foundation of socialism.

"Social capital determines the basis of socialism, so if we aim for socialism, community must be strengthened. Our next action plan is to create community capital through production," he said.

According to him, ending poverty, inequality and establishing social justice are the primary agenda of the current age. He said that only when the community was made stronger by establishing social justice, would the community capital create a foundation for the socialism.

He stressed on the community ownership of the means of production and resources. However, he underscored taking the community capital and individual competition ahead together.

"We must connect the party committees with the production and employment in the first phase of socialism. The committees should take leadership in the production and employment and run the campaign for cultural transformation," he said.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 November 2021.