THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- January 12, 2018 - Topic 2

Towards stability in Nepal

A month after the Left Alliance secured a decisive victory in Nepal’s parliamentary elections, a government is yet to be formed in Kathmandu. The Alliance was forged just before the elections between the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre). The transfer of power from the Nepali Congress to the UML-led coalition was delayed initially due to procedural issues. 

The Upper House, or the National Assembly, needed to be indirectly elected by the provincial assemblies. The parties had disagreed on the means of this indirect election, with the NC advocating a proportional representation-single transferable vote system, and the UML seeking a majority vote. After President Bidhya Devi Bhandari ratified a long-pending ordinance that allowed elections based on the single transferable vote in late December 2017, this issue appeared to have been resolved. But there are other procedural issues to be sorted out. In consultation with the Left Alliance, the caretaker government has to first appoint governors to the seven provinces. Then, the process of choosing their capitals, in order to convene the Assemblies, can be completed. Tentative proposals on new capitals had given rise to protests in several towns, and the main political parties are unwilling to take a clear position on the issue. The caretaker NC government does not seem to be particularly keen on resolving this, and a proposal has been floated to allow the provincial assemblies to convene in Kathmandu first. In the absence of a consensus, this may be best.

The clear and decisive choice by the electorate in the polls has put the responsibility of operationalising the intricate provincial model on the Left Alliance. Once the process of nominations to the National Assembly is complete — with 33% of the overall representation in Parliament reserved for women — the election of the Prime Minister will follow. It is a foregone conclusion that UML leader K.P. Oli will be elected: the party got close to the majority mark on its own in the first-past-the-post seats. Ten years since the end of the civil war and the convening of the Constituent Assembly, the promise of economic development has been belied. This is one of the reasons behind agitations called by democratic and republican forces seeking a new CA. Nepal’s economy continues to be highly dependent on remittances from Nepali migrants as the agrarian sector and industrial growth, especially in the hydro-energy sector, have stagnated. For too long, political posturing and the game of thrones involving the major parties, the UML, the NC and the Maoists, in Kathmandu have become pursuits in themselves. With the Left Alliance promising a greater degree of cohesion and winning a clear victory, the sooner the process of election of a new Prime Minister is accomplished, the faster Nepal can get on with the business of governance.

Vocabulary

Decisive: settling an issue; producing a definite result.

Example: The Supreme Court voided the statute by a decisive 7–2 vote

Synonyms: deciding, conclusive, determining, key, pivotal, critical, crucial

Antonyms: hesitant, undecided, suspensive, hesitating, on the fence

Coalition: an alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states.

Example: A coalition of conservatives and disaffected Democrats

Synonyms: alliance, union, partnership, bloc, caucus, federation, league

Antonyms: antagonism, discord, disunion, divorce, enmity, hostility

Provincial: concerning a province of a country or empire.

Example: Provincial elections

Synonyms: nonmetropolitan, small-town, nonurban, outlying, rural, country

Antonyms: travelled, cosmopolitan, traveled

Resolve: firmly determined to do something.

Example: Constance was resolved not to cry

Synonyms: determined, hell-bent, intent, set

Antonyms: disbelief, distrust, doubt, doubt, hesitancy, hesitation

Unwilling: not ready, eager, or prepared to do something.

Example: He was unwilling to take on that responsibility

Synonyms: reluctant, unenthusiastic, hesitant, resistant, grudging, involuntary

Antonyms: willing and able, volitional, ready, inclined, prepared

Consensus: general agreement.

Example: A consensus of opinion among judges

Synonyms: agreement, harmony, concurrence, accord, unity, unanimity

Intricate: very complicated or detailed.

Example: An intricate network of canals

Synonyms: complex, complicated, convoluted, tangled, entangled, twisted

Antonyms: simple

Foregone: precede in place or time.

Example: She did his bidding and gave him the cup, which no sooner had he drunk than his head forewent his feet.

Synonyms: done for, departed, bypast, gone

Antonyms: future, present

Belied:  fail to give a true notion or impression of something.

Example: His lively alert manner belied his years

Synonyms: contradict, be at odds with, call into question, show/prove to be false

Stagnate: cease to flow or move; become stagnant.

Example: Pointed out was the fact that due to the closure of these sluice gates there was no flow of water, resulting in water stagnating in the khazan lands.

Synonyms: stop flowing, become stagnant, become trapped, stand, become foul

Pursuit: the action of following or pursuing someone or something.

Example: The cat crouched in the grass in pursuit of a bird

Synonyms:  striving toward, search for, aim, goal, objective, dream

Accomplish: achieve or complete successfully.

Example: The planes accomplished their mission

Synonyms: fulfill, achieve, succeed in, realize, attain, manage, bring about/off

Antonyms: abandon, fail, forfeit, give up, let go, lose, miss