“Nepal’s ballot revolt: Voters seek change after years of political musical chairs”, First Post, March 06, 2026
“March 2, the last day of campaigning for the March 5 elections, also coincided with Holi celebrations, mostly in the vicinity of temples. On March 4, election booths were set up with police—discredited during the ‘GenZ Andolan’ last September 7-8—and not the army, as many had predicted. Army Quick Reaction Teams are patrolling the area but have declined to be deployed around booths or transport ballot boxes to designated counting centres.
March 5 was the quietest day, as the use of vehicles, except those on election duty, has been banned. This did not happen in the last 2020 national elections, which I witnessed. This month, I was privy to the campaigning, house-to-house vote-seeking, and the actual casting of votes in the Kaski 1 and 2 constituencies of Gandaki Province near Pokhara.
The mood of the people across the country is to reject the old, traditional parties such as the Nepali Congress, CPN UML and CPN Maoist for their failure to eliminate corruption and provide jobs and good governance. Three prime ministers—Sher Bahadur Deuba, KP Oli and Prachanda—have played musical chairs for the post. Frustrated with their record, people want change and development, including economic stimulus…..”
Read full article at firstpost.com
