Nepal: The government has refused to appoint Murari Kharel as secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, alleging that the selection process was not transparent.
photo: tkp
The Prime Minister’s Office rejected
Kharel’s recommendation on Tuesday following the reluctance of the
constitutional human rights watchdog to provide the original marking files of
the candidates competing for the position. Along with Kharel, acting secretary
at the commission, Yagya Adhikari and Tika Ram Pokharel, joint secretaries,
were in the race for the topmost administrative position at the commission.
“The commission’s recommendation
couldn’t be approved,” Lila Devi Gadtaula, secretary at the Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO), told the Post. “We have sent back the recommendation with some
remarks.”
The decision was taken after the
commission failed to comply with the PMO’s request to send the original
documents with the marks the three candidates received in various categories.
The letter from the Pushpa Kamal Dahal
administration said Kharel’s nomination was rejected, questioning the
impartiality and transparency of the selection process.
“On reviewing the nomination, it has
been found that the selection process was not fully transparent and free of
controversy,” states the PMO’s letter. “Only nominations made through a
transparent selection process and in line with the existing law will be
entertained.”
Based on the scores given by a
three-member selection committee led by its member Surya Dhungel, four of the
five commissioners, including chief commissioner Top Bahadur Magar, on October
30 recommended Kharel for promotion to the post of secretary. Kashi Raj Dahal,
former chief of the Administrative Court, and professor Kusum Shakya were the
members of the selection committee.
The Dhungel-led committee had given
equal marks to both Kharel and Yagya Adhikari, a joint-secretary at the
commission. They received 67.3 each. But Kharel was recommended for the
position citing his better performance during an interview and a presentation.
Mihir Thakur, a commissioner, had objected to the decision.
Three days later, on November 3, he
wrote a separate letter to Prime Minister Dahal, asking him to refrain from
appointing Kharel as secretary, accusing him of misusing resources and engaging
in irregularities at the commission.
Thakur has been claiming that as Kharel
and Adhikari got equal marks, Adhikari should be appointed to the post due to
Kharel’s involvement in controversies.
Adhikari and Tikaram Pokharel, another
contender for the position, also wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office on
November 6, raising questions over the pick. As a result, the Dahal
administration sought the original marking files of the three candidates. The
commission, however, provided only the marks each candidate obtained and a copy
of the minutes that recommended Kharel for the position.
The letter from the Pushpa Kamal Dahal
administration said Kharel’s nomination was rejected, questioning the
impartiality and transparency of the selection process.
The Prime Minister’s Office again wrote
to the commission seeking the document but the requested document was never
provided. Gadtaula expressed surprise at the commission’s reluctance to produce
the documents if the selection was done by following due process.
Adhikari and Pokharel allege that
Kharel was “favoured” in the interview. “We have been raising questions over
the transparency and credibility of the selection process. It is good if the
authorities concerned have addressed our issues,” Adhikari told the Post.
The commission’s leadership, however,
says being a constitutional body, the executive cannot ask them to disclose
confidential documents. They claim that legally the government has to implement
its recommendations and can request reconsideration if there are some issues.
The executive cannot reject their recommendations, they claim.
Multiple attempts to get a response
from Magar and Dhungel failed.
However, those who have long
experiences at the commission do not buy the argument. “Yes, the executive has
to implement the commission’s recommendations if they are related to human rights
issues. It is wrong to say the government cannot ask questions in
administrative issues like the selection of officials,” Bed Bhattarai, a former
secretary at the commission, told the Post. “The commission should have made
the entire selection process public for transparency. It can still do that.”
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