AFP
Kathmandu
Nepal’s parliament passed a new national constitution yesterday, weeks after political leaders reached a historic agreement to create a federal state following an earthquake that killed nearly 9,000
people.
A loud cheer went up in the House as Speaker Subash Nembang announced that the long-delayed bill had been passed, with 507 of the 598 lawmakers voting in favour.
The marathon vote, which began on Sunday and continued late into yesterday night, follows violent protests that have killed more than 40 people and shut down large swathes of the south.
The new charter will replace an interim constitution in place since the end of a decade-long civil war that led to the abolition of the Hindu monarchy, and is due to come into force on Sunday evening.
It will divide the Himalayan nation of 28mn people into seven federal provinces, a move aimed at devolving power from the centre, but which critics say will not do enough to empower historically marginalised groups.
They include the Madhesi and Tharu ethnic minorities, who mainly inhabit the country’s southern plains and who claim that the new internal borders will leave them underrepresented.
Political leaders counter that no deal would have pleased everyone, and point to the urgency of ending the long stand-off over the constitution so that the country can start
rebuilding.
Work on a new constitution began in 2008, two years after the end of a civil war between state forces and Maoist guerrillas seeking to depose an autocratic king and end high levels of social inequality.
For years the parties were unable to agree on the terms of the new charter, but Nepal’s three biggest political forces — the Nepali Congress, UML and Maoist parties — ended the deadlock in June after a 7.9-magnitude quake that killed nearly 8,900 people and destroyed around half a million homes.
They reached a deal on a new federal structure for the country, but were criticised for leaving the crucial issue of internal borders undecided.
Last month the parties decided to demarcate the provinces in the constitution after warnings that leaving the borders undefined would store up future problems.
But the move unleashed a wave of violence that has killed more than 40 people, among them two young children and a police officer lynched as he was driven to hospital in an
ambulance.
Police shooting kills four including child
A four-year-old boy was among four people killed late Tuesday when police in Nepal opened fire on a crowd of people demonstrating against a new national constitution due to be introduced this week.
Police said they opened fire after protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at security forces, attacked police vehicles and vandalised a local police station in the southern district of Rupandehi.
“Four people were killed when police were forced to fire as the crowd became threatening,” district police chief Rajendra Dhakal said.
“Unfortunately, among them was a four-year-old boy.”
More than 40 people have died in fierce clashes between police and protesters in Nepal’s southern plains that erupted after the main political parties reached a historic deal on a new constitution, under pressure to work together following a devastating earthquake in April.
They include 11 police and the 18-month-old son of a police officer shot dead when protesters opened fire outside his home.
