By P.R. Pradhan
Decades ago, this scribe was elected as a member of the Central Committee of the Nepalese Journalists’ Association (now the Federation of Nepalese Journalists). That time, this became possible to represent the umbrella organization representing a tabloid newspaper. At the time, the NJA had adopted a statute of semi-direct elections. District committees had to elect members of the Central Council, and the Central Council, in turn, elected the Central Committee—the umbrella body of media professionals.
The statute was designed to prevent domination and monopoly by major political parties and large media houses within the organization. However, this system has since been abandoned in favor of direct elections for central committee executives. Since the adoption of the new statute, alliances between major political parties—such as the Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, or NC and other parties—have emerged during election periods, resulting in the capture of the Central Committee of what is meant to be a professional body of journalists.
Nowadays, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) appears to engage more in politics than in professional matters, reflecting a decline in journalistic professionalism within the organization. As professional journalists perceive this erosion of standards, the umbrella body has increasingly lost its relevance to them.
Although Nepal is geographically distant from the war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, the global impact of the conflict is undeniable. Petroleum prices have surged in international markets. While the war might have been avoidable, some argue that the personal interests of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu played a significant role in its outbreak. Allegations have also surfaced in certain circles suggesting that the conflict was used to deflect attention from controversies and legal challenges faced by these leaders.
It remains uncertain who will ultimately prevail in the conflict. Nevertheless, the United States appears to be experiencing a relative decline in its global supremacy, while Israel is incurring significant costs. Iran, too, has suffered greatly. There is also a growing risk of escalation in West Asia, including the potential use of nuclear weapons—an outcome that could have catastrophic consequences for human civilization. Some observers argue that American democracy itself has been undermined and misused under recent political leadership.
In the Nepali context, the events of March 21 this year produced a striking electoral outcome. The newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) secured a near two-thirds majority, winning 182 seats in Parliament. This is both unexpected and rare under Nepal’s existing electoral system. Some analysts believe that external influences, including so-called “deep state” actors, may have played a role in the planned September 8–9 Gen Z uprising, the formation of the interim government led by Sushila Karki, and the subsequent electoral success of the RSP.
Most predictions made by local election observers proved inaccurate, while projections by some media outlets funded by the Open Society Foundation appeared to align more closely with the results. During the election campaign, the RSP did not present a detailed political agenda beyond its core slogans of combating corruption and promoting good governance. At the same time, the party has supported the continuation of secularism, federalism, and republicanism—frameworks that some critics argue have not succeeded in the Nepali context.
It is still too early to fully assess the trajectory of the RSP-led government. However, it is evident that elections alone do not guarantee democracy, as various influential groups may remain active in shaping and potentially manipulating electoral outcomes.
Login to add a comment