Young, old queue in Nepal for voter registration, expecting fresher mandate from March polls

By Binod Prasad Adhikari

Kathmandu [Nepal], October 10 (ANI): From young teenagers to older generations, people have been queuing outside the election offices to sign themselves up on the voter list for the upcoming March polls, expecting a fresher mandate.

The sharp rise in the number of applicants comes at a time when the nation is transitioning through a political crisis and the recent Gen-Z movement of September 8. The nation is still trying to move forward, bringing change through ballots, electing a new parliament with a new mandate.

"I am pretty excited (for the election) because this will be the first time that I will be voting for something, and I think something big is coming up. So, what mindset I have is, let's win from our home; some parents might be leaning towards some political parties, my father and mother might be leaning to some political parties. But I want to bring change from my own home. So, I request everyone, let's win from our home and then we can bring change in the country," Prashanna Dangol, a Gen-Z voter, told ANI.

The Himalayan nation saw bloodshed and carnage on September 8 and 9 after the state used force to suppress youths demanding accountability, ensuring the end of corruption. The then government, led by KP Sharma Oli, could not withstand the force of the youths, forcing the communist leader to resign and take cover under the army. More than six dozen people were killed within two days of violence.

Hopes are raging high again with the formation of an interim government under the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, which will complete the first month of its allotted six-month tenure on Sunday.

Karki, who is working with her small eight-membered interim cabinet, has been highlighting the successful commission of the March 5 election as her only aim and would exit immediately after the new lower house commences.

The interim government also introduced an ordinance amending the Voter List Act, paving the way for voter registration to include those who might not get a chance to exercise their franchise in the upcoming fray.

"The changes were actually unexpected, so the excitement is mixed. It is not positive but not negative as well. I am hoping for a better future, better changes that we can observe in the coming future," Shashwat Subedi, a Gen-Z voter who registered himself for the voting rights, told ANI.

The Election Commission, earlier this week, introduced a new system allowing people to register voter details from any election office nationwide. The electoral body has given the deadline till the end of October to let people get their names up on the electoral list.

The Electoral Voter List Act ordinance issued on September 24 exercises the rights provided to the president by Article 114(1) of the Constitution, based on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. It amends Section 4(2)(2) of the Voter List Act, which had barred registration after the announcement of an election date.

According to the previous provision, "once the date of election is announced, no voter registration shall be made for that election." This legal hurdle had prevented eligible citizens, particularly youth who recently reached voting age, from being listed in the voter roll.

Tens of thousands of youths could be prevented from exercising their right to vote under the existing law. Section 4, subsection 2 (2) of the Voter Registration Act, 2073, stipulates, "No person shall be registered in the voters' list for the purpose of an election after the date of that election has been declared."

If the present law gets continuity, only those registered in the voter lists by September 12 will be able to vote in the House of Representatives elections. As per the Election Commission's report, as many as 18,148,654 voters have been listed for voting as of Chaitra-end (mid-April)- end of the previous Nepali year 2081.

As many as 17,988,570 voters, 9,140,806 men, 8,847,579 women and 185 from other categories were eligible to cast their votes in the previous elections held in November 2022. By April 2025, in two and a half years, the number increased by 160,054 to 18,148,654. (ANI)

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