The Maoists and the seven-party alliance intended to end exclusion and discrimination and empower minorities in their 2006 peace agreements, as did the 2007 Interim Constitution (IC). This is why the 2015 Constitution declares Nepal a federal state, with various elements of power-sharing and with devolution of powers and representative political bodies.

This paper explores how well the intentions are met in the new constitution, drawing on comparative studies of federal arrangements. It discusses how the Nepal Constitution specifies the current multi-level institutions and the Nepal systems of representation, which are important for the representation of all groups and inclusion of traditionally excluded groups. The systems are a mix of plurality systems and proportional systems for the House of Representatives and the province assemblies, whereas the local assemblies and the National Assembly are elected by plurality systems (first-past-the-post) only. Quota rules for groups make the systems very complicated. The paper discusses both the rationale for the different systems and suggestions for simplifications.

Any limits to the success of the Constitution are not obviously due to ill intentions. The youth of the Constitution of Nepal and the relative ease of its change offer important opportunities to fine tune the Constitution, allocation of authority within the multilevel political order, and the legislation. Political trust and stability counsels to make the legal order as simple as possible, especially the complicated electoral rules while ensuring the desired inclusion of previously marginalized groups and to include political minorities in a reasonable manner. To strengthen Nepal’s federal features, we point to challenges and opportunities to enhance the role of the provinces.