Polling began across the Himalayan nation of Nepal to elect a new Parliament amid tight security arrangements, with nearly 19 million voters eligible to cast their ballots.
A total of 23,112 polling centres under 10,963 polling stations across all 77 districts of the South Asian nation opened for voting at 7:00 am (Nepal Standard Time), which is 15 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time. Voting will continue until 5:00 pm (local time) in a single-phase election under the security cover of 341,113 personnel, including 149,000 temporary election police personnel.
According to the Election Commission of Nepal, 18,903,689 voters, including over 800,000 newly registered voters, will elect 275 members to the House of Representatives through a mixed electoral system.
Each voter is allowed to cast two votes—one for a preferred candidate and another for a political party.
A total of 3,406 candidates, representing over 65 political parties and 1,143 independent candidates, are contesting for 165 seats under the first-past-the-post system. Another 3,135 candidates are competing for 110 seats under the proportional representation system.
Among the key contenders are Balendra Shah (popularly known as Balen) of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, K. P. Sharma Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), Gagan Thapa of the Nepali Congress, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal (also known as Prachanda) of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre).
Notably, both Shah and Oli are contesting from the same constituency, Jhapa-5 in eastern Nepal, which lies close to the strategic Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken’s Neck.
Once the election results are declared and a new government takes office, the tenure of the interim government led by former Supreme Court of Nepal Chief Justice Sushila Karki will come to an end.
Karki assumed the responsibility in September last year following a massive anti-corruption agitation led by Nepali youth, which forced the collapse of the ruling alliance between the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) and the Nepali Congress government led by Oli.
In a televised address to the nation on Monday ahead of Holi and the national elections, interim Prime Minister Karki appealed to citizens to exercise their franchise while maintaining peace and harmony. She asserted that the government and election authorities were committed to conducting the polls in a free, fair and fearless manner, urging people not to fall prey to misinformation or disinformation.
Meanwhile, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party has renewed its demand for the restoration of constitutional monarchy and for Nepal to regain its status as a Sanatani Hindu Rashtra.
The right-wing party, which has fielded candidates across the country, has frequently organised rallies supporting Nepal’s last king, Gyanendra Shah, who has lived a private life in Kathmandu since the monarchy was abolished nearly two decades ago.
A section of Hindu nationalist groups is now demanding the restoration of the monarchy, even if only as a ceremonial head of state in place of the President. Pro-monarchist supporters often take to the streets waving national flags, holding placards and chanting slogans whenever the septuagenarian former king visits rural areas.
