KATHMANDU: Nepalese voters went to polling stations to elect a new parliament on Sunday in a contest dominated by people’s frustrations over the elderly political elite and anxiety over the shaking economy.
A revolving door of prime ministers – most serving less than a year – and the horse-trading culture have increased perceptions that the government is neglecting the country’s grave problems.
The established parties whose leaders have occupied the power for decades are facing several younger candidates for the first time.
Though political pundits expect the country’s established senior politicians to again dominate the new assembly, many voters have lost faith in the existing state of affairs and a mood for change is noticeable.
Nepalese Votes to Elect New Parliament Public Disappointed with Old Political Elites
“Every party came to power over the past five years but they did nothing for the public”, Chiranjibi Dawadi, a driver, told AFP. He said that his family decided to vote for a fresh party in this election, although it do nothing for us because old parties also did not deliver.
Today’s elections are the second since a new constitution was promulgated in Nepal in 2015, ushering in a new political era after the end of the traumatist insurgency in the country.
The civil war that claimed over 17,000 lives and abolished the monarchy in Nepal, ended in 2006. It also brought the former rebels into the power corridors. Since then, the former guerrilla fighters have alternated in government with another communist party and the established Congress in different coalitions.
But political instability has been a persistent feature of the country’s parliament, and no prime minister has enjoyed a full tenure since the war ended. A constant balancing act has left different coalition governments trying to navigate the traditional rivalry between India and China, two big neighbors of Nepal when Western concerns are rising with the Chinese-funded mega projects in the country.
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Incumbent prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, 76, is serving as the premier for the fifth time. Two other major party leaders are 70 and 67 and have both served as premier twice.
As the economy is still shaking after the Covid-19 pandemic, which destroyed the tourism sector and decreased remittances, public dissatisfaction with the three veterans has intensified. Inflation is on the rise and the government has imposed bans on several goods, including television sets and foreign liquor, to shore up its shrinking foreign exchange reserves.
New Faces in Field for Parliament Seat
Several younger candidates are contesting elections this year including the famous journalist Rabi Lamichhane. The charismatic former TV host shot to fame with a muckraking news show where he shouted at officials and did string operations against corrupt bureaucrats.
Sushant Thapa, a 26-year-old student in Kathmandu, told AFP that he had voted for old parties in the previous elections but he choose new candidates this time. He was optimistic that new candidates will dominate the parliament and will work for the public welfare.
But political pundits say that due to the nature of the country’s parliamentary system, old parties could dominate the parliament.
Nagarik newspaper’s editor Guna Raj Luitel told AFP that it seems the people are no longer expect big changes. Probably, no single party will get majority and it is again going to be the same power struggle coalition governments. Due to the logistical problems faced by remote communities in the country, election officials expected the results would take four to five days to be known.
