Kathmandu, Nepal, February 22, 2022:Even though the government has tabled the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact project in Parliament, there is no certainty that it would be ratified by February 28, the deadline set by the US government.
It is likely that the MCC would be put on Thursday’s meeting of the parliament for discussions. However, neither the ruling allies have univocal stand nor the main opposition CPN UML has come clearly over the issue of endorsing the MCC from the parliament.
The division and deviation among the parties even after the tabulation in the parliament has triggered a fear that the deadline set by the US government to endorse the MCC proposal would be missed again even though the deadline was set on the basis of the demand made by the Nepali leaders.
The US government had already made clear that it would not wait Nepal for an indefinite period for parliamentary endorsement even stating further that the donation amount allocated under the MCC would be shifted to other needy countries if Nepal does not accept it sans setting any precondition.
The MCC was tabled in the parliament on Sunday following the decision of the ruling allies- Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre) CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) Nepal and Rastriya Janamocrcha. The meeting held among the top leaders of the ruling allies had decided to table the MCC in the parliament for endorsement purpose.
However, the Maoist Centre, the CPN Unified Socialist and Janamorcha have been stating now that they would vote against of the MCC. Likewise, JSP, another ally of the government, has not made its position clear regarding the endorsement of the MCC from the parliament. The ruling head Nepali Congress is the only party that has come openly in favor of endorsing the MCC from the parliaments.
Since the main opposition CPN-UML also has not made its position clear on the MCC compact, it is still uncertain that how it would be forwarded in the parliament for discussion and how many lawmakers would take part in the discussions.
The lawmakers from the UML, who have been obstructing the House proceedings for the last five months demanding resignation of House Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota alleging him of not mentioning parliamentary procedures by taking actions against 14 lawmakers aligned in the United Socialist, would not participate in the discussion over the issue of MCC in the parliament but continue the protest as usual.
The main opposition UML has not made its position clear overt the MCC compact waiting to the concrete decision of the ruling allies. It is believed that the UML would vote in favor of the MCC only if the Nepali Congress cut off ties with the Maoist Center and the United Socialist in the government.
The Maoist Centre and the Unified Socialist, however, have made a doubled slandered position even staging protest against of the government for tabling the MCC in the parliament. Recent statements and decision of the two parties indicate that they would neither leave the government nor vote in favor of the MCC. Secretariat meeting of the CPN United Socialist held on Monday decided to vote against of the MCC.
Owing to the poor vote base, the Maoist Center and the United Socialist want to continue the incumbent alliance till the upcoming elections with the expectation forging electoral alliance with the ruling head Nepali Congress.
The indecision of the UML and the double slandered role of the Maoist Center and the United Socialist have not only created complications to endorse the MCC from the parliament but to move forward the political course in the country.
