Nepal Votes in First General Election Since Massive Gen Z Protests

Polls were opened early, on Thursday, all over the land, plains, the Terai, and the high-altitude villages of the Himalayas. The voting population is deciding the destinies of 275 seats in the House of Representatives. Fourteen hundred and twenty-five members are elected by a first-past-the- post (FPTP) system under the complex electoral system of Nepal, with the remaining 110 members elected by proportional representation.

The Shadow of the Gen Z Uprising

The current election is vastly different from the one of the previous decade. Only a year has passed, and Nepal experienced the so-called Gen Z Uprising, the protests organized mainly by young professionals and students. The popular uprising was fuelled by the increasing unemployment, systemic corruption, and the feeling that the ageing leadership in the country was no longer committed to the demands of the people.

Slogans that were used at those protests, such as the phrase No More Nepotism and the phrase End the Bootlicking have become the leading motifs of the election campaign. Youthful voters who represent a significant number of voters have been seethed with frustration regarding the incidence of sycophancy in the political arena, where party loyalty is, in many cases, more important than competence and policy initiative.

Old Guard vs. New Blood

Over the decades, Nepali politics have been characterized by a few ageing leaders, such as K.P. Sharma Oli of the CPN-UML, Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) of the CPN-Maoist Centre. Although these figures are still formidable, they are also facing a tough test with an influx of independent candidates and newer, youth-oriented political parties.

It is world news today that the old parties have tried to make a turnaround by putting younger candidates in some constituencies, but a lot of voters do not believe that. The emergence of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and other independent movements has divided the old vote banks, making the result of this election especially hard to predict.

Key Issues: Economy and Brain Drain

Further on the political reform, the economy is the main worry of the majority of households. High inflation and a slow post-pandemic recovery have hindered Nepal. Nonetheless, the most burning issue that is tackled during community meetings is the phenomenon of brain drain.

Every day, thousands of young Nepalis go out of the country to find jobs in the Gulf, Southeast Asia, or Western education. This flight of labour has caused a home shortage of skilled labour, and many rural villages are left with only the old and young. Candidates who have put forth tangible parameters on domestic job creation and industrial development seem to be getting the best draw with the undecided group.

Logistics and Security

The government has assigned tens of thousands of security forces, which include the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force, to help in making sure that the voting is peaceful. There were temporary restrictions on the sale of alcohol and the prohibition of vehicle movement for 48 hours before the polling was opened to avoid any possible clash of supporters of the rival parties.

The election officials project that this will draw a large number of voters due to the high social media campaigns that have encouraged the citizens to exercise their right to vote as a way of cleaning the system.

Now that the counting starts in the next few days, the world is looking to know whether Nepal keeps its traditional power structures or the energy of the Gen Z protests has been able to translate into a new age of governance. The FPTP seats will be available in the week, with the final proportional representation result possibly taking even longer.

Also Read: US and Israel Launch Joint Strikes on Tehran