Nepal Votes in First Election After Gen Z-Led Protests Toppled Oli Government

Tens of thousands of Nepalese will vote on Thursday in crucial general elections, the first since a violent Gen Z-led protest toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government last year.

The 275-member House of Representatives will be chosen by more than 18.9 million eligible Nepalese from 3,406 candidates running for 165 seats through direct voting and 3,135 candidates running for 110 seats through proportional voting.

On Thursday, the voting will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. As soon as the ballot boxes are gathered, the counting will begin.

He said foolproof security arrangements have been made with the deployment of more than 300,000 security personnel under an integrated security plan in coordination with the Nepal Army.

Bhandari expressed confidence that voters would exercise their franchise in large numbers.

“This time the voting percentage will increase, and the percentage of invalid ballot papers will also decline due to improved voter education launched by the commission,” he said.

He also sought cooperation from all sides to conduct the election successfully.

He stated that vote boxes will be transported to district offices by helicopters in a number of locations.

According to Bhandari, the results under the first-past-the-post or direct voting systems should be known within a day of the counting starting.

Prime Minister Oli, chair of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)—CPN-UML—who was leading a coalition government with the support of the Nepali Congress and nearly two-thirds majority support, was overthrown by the Gen Z youth during their two days of intensified protests on September 8 and 9.

On September 12, President Ramchandra Paudel dismissed the House of Representatives following Oli's removal and named Sushila Karki as the interim prime minister.

Anti-corruption, good governance, ending nepotism, generational shift in political leadership, etc. are the main concerns brought up by Generation Z.

The hardliner force is now the CPN-UML, led by Oli. The Prachanda-led NCP has not transferred party leadership to the younger generation, although claiming to have addressed the concerns expressed by Generation Z.

Rastriya Swotantra Party (RSP), led by its chair Ravi Lamichhane and senior leader Balendra Shah, and the reformed Nepali Congress, led by Gagan Thapa, are voicing the issues raised by the Gen Z, while CPN-UML and Nepali Communist Party, led by ‘Prachanda’, are known as the traditional forces.

Ujyalo Nepal Party, led by Kulman Ghising, and Shram Shakti Party, led by former Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang, are also emerging forces but enjoy support in limited pockets only.

“Nepal's politics is sharply divided between those who want change and those who want to maintain the status quo, those who support the concerns raised by the Gen Z youths and the traditional political forces that do not prefer change,” said a leader from the Gen Z group.

RSP has projected former Kathmandu Mayor Balen, 35, as its prime ministerial candidate, while Nepali Congress has projected 49-year-old Thapa for the top post. CPN-UML has projected Oli, 75, as its PM face.

“People are tired of the traditional political forces due to rampant corruption, nepotism and lack of accountability, so this time they are likely to express their dissatisfaction towards the traditional big parties. and the emerging new political parties are becoming attractive and catchy to them,” said Charan Prasai, human rights activist and political analyst.

Balen of Kathmandu has selected Jhapa-5 as his constituency for the election on March 5. Oli, who has previously won the seat six times, will face a formidable opponent.

In order to start an election wave in Nepal's southern plains, Thapa, who is originally from Kathmandu, has also selected Dhanusha-4 in Madhes Province.

Oli has been restricted to his own constituency during the election campaign in order to secure his position due to Balen's increasing popularity in Jhapa-5, rather than travelling to other seats across the nation to support other party candidates.

During his election campaign, Nepali Congressman Gagan Thapa performed well across the nation, particularly in the areas of southern Nepal.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal appealed to all the voters to exercise their voting rights without worrying.

“The government has arranged foolproof security during the election, which will be conducted in a free, fair and fearless environment, thus I call upon voters to go for voting without any worry,” he said while talking to reporters.

Starting Wednesday, Nepal has declared a three-day holiday for the polls.

There are a total of 10,967 polling booths and 23,112 polling centres, the Election Commission data showed. As many as 65 political parties are taking part in the election.