Nearly 19 million of Nepal’s 30 million people are eligible to vote in the March 5 election for the 275-member House of Representatives. Since last year’s protests, about a million voters, mostly young people, have been involved.
While direct competition will decide 165 seats, the rest will be decided through proportional representation, where parties are allocated seats in proportion to their votes.
Jobs and the economy are key issues in this election, especially for the youth, Kathmandu-based sources told ET. India will be watching the election results closely considering its strategic and economic interests in the Himalayan state. According to Nepalese observers, China would also turn a blind eye and prefer to deal with an established political party, preferably the Communists and Maoists.
According to World Bank figures, Nepal’s largest trading partner is India, which accounts for 63% of imports, or $8.6 billion, followed by China at 13%, or $1.8 billion. In the past few years, India and Nepal have been able to develop a hydropower partnership, which aims to replicate the Indo-Bhutan model in the future.
Rapper-turned-politician and former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah is the Rastriya Sutantra Party’s prime ministerial candidate. He is in direct competition with four-time Prime Minister Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).
Oli is finding it difficult to win support from the youth, who toppled his government through street protests. Other candidates include 49-year-old Gagan Thapa of the Nepali Congress Party. Former prime minister and ex-Maoist leader Prachanda may not be eyeing the top post but is active in the election process.
