Nepal’s election campaign entered its final day yesterday, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government, with rival leaders making a last push in a tightly contested race.
The Himalayan republic is to elect a new parliament on Thursday, replacing the interim government that has led the nation of 30 million people since the September uprising in which at least 77 people were killed.
Sushila Karki, who is serving as interim prime minister until Thursday’s vote, has said the election would “draw the future of the country.”
Photo: AFP
Two weeks of campaigning have showcased a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal’s woeful economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for two decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security.
Among the key figures is KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader ousted as prime minister last year.
He faces a high-profile challenge in his home constituency from former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician widely known as Balen.
Photo: Reuters
Their constituency of Jhapa-5 — a mix of towns and farming settlements in Nepal’s eastern plains, with the world’s highest peaks on the horizon — has emerged as a crucial battleground.
A local defeat for either man would likely end his bid to become prime minister.
“We have had a difficult few years with old leadership, and we need new energy,” 50-year-old bus driver Pawan Jha said at Shah’s rally in Jhapa. “The protests were important to bring about change.”
Shah, dressed in a sharp-cut black suit and sunglasses, waving from a car he was driving himself through farmlands of Jhapa, arrived to his rally to cheers, whistles and thumping music.
Oli, speaking to Agence France-Presse, blamed “anarchic forces” for the violence that led to his removal and denied ordering security forces to kill protesters during the unrest.
Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party, has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change.
“Gen Z’s number one demand is good governance, because there is a high level of corruption in the country,” Shah told AFP.
However, he is not the only one wooing the youth vote.
Aspiring prime minister Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the nation’s oldest party, Nepali Congress, told AFP he wanted to end the “old age” club of revolving veteran leaders.
Thapa, a former health minister who took charge in January, said he offers voters the “right mix of energy and experience.”
Nearly 19 million registered voters are to elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament — 165 directly, with a further 110 chosen via a party-list proportional representation.
Analysts say the vote is unlikely to deliver an outright majority for any single party.
More than 3,400 candidates are competing in the direct vote, 30 percent aged under 40.
The youth-led protests in September were triggered by a brief social media ban, but were fueled by anger at economic stagnation and an aging elite seen as out of touch.
The World Bank estimates 82 percent of Nepal’s workforce is in informal employment, with GDP per capita at US$1,447 in 2024.
Millions are forced to seek work abroad — and their remittances make up the equivalent of about one-third of Nepal’s GDP.
“Unemployment is a big issue, that needs to be resolved,” said shopkeeper Mamata Devi Goswami, 49, who said she would vote for change.
“The youth should work here and earn their living, rather than go out of the country,” she said.
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