-Balen-Shah-as-the-favourite-64967.html&is_video=&description=Nepalis+to+vote+with+rapper+%28and+Kathmandu+former+mayor%29+Balen+Shah+as+the+favourite)
Nepalis to vote with rapper (and Kathmandu former mayor) Balen Shah as the favourite
Some 19 million people can cast their ballot tomorrow to elect the 275-member House of Representatives, a crucial step after the Generation Z Revolution. For the outgoing caretaker prime minister, this is a “historic and important juncture”. Fears are high over the possible impact of the war in the Gulf, where two million Nepali migrants work.
Milan (AsiaNews) – Tomorrow, 19 million Nepalis out of a population of 30 million, will go to the polls to choose the 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the country’s bicameral federal parliament.
About 3,400 people are running for a seat, a third under the age of 40, far below this age group’s proportion of eligible voters, 52 per cent.
In a country where politics has been dominated by people over 60, the generational gap is one of the central themes of this election, and a source of uncertainties since 800,000 Nepalis will take part for the first time.
It should be noted that the election is being held under a caretaker government led by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki, which took power after a bloody grassroots revolution led by Generation Z Nepalis, bent on changing the country's political life and government to meet its real needs and potential.
The Congress Party and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) are the main target; their duopoly, whether in association or in opposition since 2008, has failed to lift people out of widespread poverty.
In an address to the nation yesterday, Prime Minister Karki called for broad participation, emphasising that, “Voting is not merely about stamping a symbol. It is a decision about the future of you and your children”.
She also called for calm, to make this expression of democracy a “historic and important juncture” and to initiate a process of advancement and stability in the rule of law after a tragic period, last fall, that was "complex, sensitive, and challenging."
Sushila Karki also spoke out against an ongoing disinformation campaign, primarily through social media, the source of which many say is in India, a country that maintains strong influence over Nepal.
India always seems able to heavily influence decision-making in the Himalayan nation, both domestically and internationally, through parties or movements close to it or through economic "leverage" or sanctions.
A strong security apparatus is being deployed to ensure a calm and a fair vote after several tense incidents that could discourage participation, along with the costs of travelling sometimes considerable distances to polling stations in the country's remotest areas.
Concerns over the war in the Gulf, an area home to nearly two million Nepali migrant workers, could also have an impact.
Some expect the CPN-UML to be the big loser under 74-year-old K P Sharma Oli, who has led the party for 55 years and served as prime minister several times until last September’s troubles.
Criticism has focused on Oli, but the party has been unable to come up with new leaders ahead of the elections.
The Congress Party, on the other hand, has managed to pick a young person, 49-year-old Gagan Thapa, elected party president after the revolution, as its prime ministerial candidate.
However, most bets are on Balendra “Balen” Shah, a famous rapper who is running as an independent. Until 18 January, he served as mayor of the capital, Kathmandu, and has managed to combine personal following and administrative skills before joining the centrist Rastriya Swatantra (National Independence) Party.
.png)
