Nepal’s federal security gap: Provinces have constitutional authority, CDOs exercise real power

Ten years into Nepal's federal system, a significant security gap persists between constitutional provisions and administrative reality. While provincial governments are assigned the constitutional responsibility for maintaining peace and order, Chief District Officers (CDOs) continue to hold and exercise real-world power by leading crisis response operations.

This ongoing dynamic preserves the older administrative structure, leaving the provinces' authority over regional security largely theoretical. Consequently, the division of power between federal appointees and provincial leaders remains unresolved in Nepal's decentralized governance framework.