National Survey on Nepal's Constitution Building Process

In 2006, leaders in Nepal came together to sign the Comprehensive Peace Accord, signalling the end of the 10-year armed conflict. Since then, Nepal’s political leadership has worked on building the foundations of stable and inclusive democracy. At the heart of this process has been the drafting of the new Constitution to protect the fundamental rights and interests of all citizens.

In 2008–12, the first Constitutional Assembly (CA) made remarkable progress in drafting a constitution. However, when the tenure of the first CA ended, key issues remained unresolved, and the constitution could not be finalized. In 2013 a second CA was elected, and continued working on the new constitution. Following the earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015, the political parties came to an agreement on contentious issues, which moved the constitution-writing process forward. 20 September 2015 became a historic day for Nepal as the new constitution was promulgated.

This survey provides statistically relevant evidence of the opinions and perceptions of the Nepali people on the work of the second CA during a critical moment in Nepalese history. The survey commenced on 8 June 2015—the day that Nepal’s political parties reached the 16-point agreement—and ended on 31 July, one month after the release of the preliminary draft Constitution. As such, it was conducted during a time when the nation’s attention was focused directly on the work of the CA.