Nepal, March 30 -- Something unprecedented has occurred in Nepal's political history. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has won close to two-thirds of parliamentary seats, a feat without precedent under the current electoral system. The Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and other political parties that have dominated since the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990, have been relegated to the margins.

This victory of RSP is the response of a polity that had exhausted every other option.

The RSP's 'Citizen Contract' (Nagarik Karar) treats the voter as an investor and the party as a debtor, liable for consequences if results are not delivered. In a polity long accustomed to theft, this is an innovative framing for Nepal's political mome...