Five months after the major elections held in November last year, the provincial governments are yet to get a full shape—some have been hanging by a thread after being turned into minority governments while in others the competing interests of the parties in the ruling coalition have complicated the process.

The CPN-UML has pulled out of the governments in Sudurpaschim, Madhesh, Bagmati and Karnali, but the ruling coalition is yet to finalise its power-sharing deal, greatly affecting the functioning of provincial governments and assemblies. Provincial governments are waiting for signs from Kathmandu where a new power equation is taking shape.

Krishna Prasad Sapkota, a local governance expert, said provincial governments should also be guaranteed uninterrupted five years, just like the local governments. “Otherwise, even the smallest of political changes at the centre will keep destabilising provincial governments. If the behaviour of our political parties and politicians cannot change, let us change the governance system,” he said.

The Nepali Congress provincial parliamentary party leader Kamal Bahadur Shah was appointed chief minister of Sudurpaschim Province on February 9 after Rajendra Singh Rawal of the CPN-UML failed to secure the confidence of the provincial assembly. But Shah is now struggling to expand the provincial government. He secured a vote of confidence in the provincial assembly in the first week of March, but Cabinet expansion has been delayed as the coalition partners stick to their guns. Four vital ministries in the Sudurpaschim government remain vacant.

Likewise, the ruling coalition in Kathmandu has been unable to give a complete shape to the Madhesh government though it has been more than a week since the UML pulled out of the provincial government. In Madhesh, the Cabinet expansion process is knottier than in other provinces, with multiple parties in the alliance eying the chief ministerial post. Each of the Congress, the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party and the Janamat Party has staked its claim to lead the provincial government currently led by Janata Samajbadi Party’s Saroj Kumar Yadav.

Similarly, the extension of the Bagmati government is elusive even though two Congress ministers joined in on Saturday, 15 days after the UML pulled out of the government. There are 11 ministries in the province including the chief minister. Five ministries remain to be shared between the Congress and the Unified Socialist, which are asking for four and two seats respectively.

Likewise, the UML has pulled out of the Karnali government and its three ministers have resigned. The Congress has agreed to join the government led by Maoist Centre’s Raj Kumar Sharma, following an agreement whereby the two parties will lead the provincial governments by turns. There are eight ministries in the province.

The provincial assemblies have not been getting regular business related to formulating laws, passing bills, and discussing regional issues.

“The provincial assemblies are not getting businesses due to the prolonged bargaining for power among the political parties. Crucial works such as budget implementation remain pending. The provincial governments have utterly failed to deliver,” said Khim Lal Devkota, a federalism expert.

It is high time provincial lawmakers started working independently of their mother parties, said Sapkota, the local governance expert.

“The provincial lawmakers can, for instance, propose bills individually. They have room to work independently despite all that has been happening around them. They can debate provincial issues, and work together to strengthen federalism. But that has not been the case as they remain in the grips of power-centric politics.”

In Koshi, Lumbini and Gandaki provinces, however, the UML is leading the government—minority ones in Lumbini and Gandaki.

In Lumbini, the Congress is claiming the chief ministerial position. But current chief minister, UML’s Leela Giri, appears reluctant to step down and is in a mood to go for a floor test. The Maoist Centre and the Janamat Party have already pulled out of the government. On March 26, the Congress, the Maoist Centre, and other parties in the ruling coalition had written to the province chief to appoint Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary of the Nepali Congress as chief minister based on the Article 168 (2) of the constitution.

In Gandaki, Surendra Pandey from the Congress is in line to be the chief minister as soon as UML’s Khagaraj Adhikari resigns. But Adhikari is also unwilling to step down, even though the Maoist Centre and other parties quit his government on March 24.

In Koshi province, the Maoist Centre and the JSP have supported a UML-led government until now. The UML is the largest party in the province, with 40 seats, while supporting it is the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which has six seats. The ruling coalition has 47 seats combined (adding one seat of the Speaker). The UML chief minister Hikmat Kumar Karki is trying to hang on but as both the ruling and opposition alliances have the same number of seats, it won’t be easy for him to do so. The Speaker cannot break the tie while forming the new government, further complicating the situation for the ruling alliance.

Federalism expert Devkota said it would have been easier if the chief ministers in clear minority had let the majority to form the government, and clear the hurdles for the formation of full-strength provincial governments. “Yes, there is a constitutional way. But taking that route to change the government will take a long time,” he said.

According to experts, ensuring that the provincial governments run smoothly and deliver are a must for the federalism to sustain.

“The various package deals are not allowing the provincial governments to function independently. This is not how a federal setup works,” added Sapkota.

Devkota said the provinces have not got to exercise full powers as neither the provincial bureaucracy nor the police are under their full control, as both are still in a phase of adjustment. “No one seems interested in strengthening the federalism that we brought after such a long struggle. As the provincial governments come and go at the whim of the political leaders in Kathmandu, people are increasingly questioning the need and relevance of federalism,” he said.