Expecting new faces in the HoR

The Himalayan Times

18 November 2022

Expecting new faces in the HoR

It seems that the upcoming provincial and federal elections will be an interesting political event in Nepal’s political history, considering the participation of many independent candidates against the so-called big political parties’ candidates. However, the election seems to be a tug of war mainly between the two political alliances – the NC led five-party ruling alliance and the other alliance led by the main opposition CPN-UML. The number of seats of the House of Representatives (HoR) is 275. 

Despite growing voices within the major political parties for transferring the leadership to the new generation, most candidates for the provincial and federal elections are the same old faces as per the nominations filed for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category. The major parties have fielded same old candidates multiple times. They have mostly picked up the winners of the 2017 elections along with their influential leaders while distributing tickets for the November 20 election. On the other hand, some dissidents who raised critical voices against their bosses, including those with a high probability of winning the seats, were not given tickets for the election.

Considering the nominations of the party candidates, it is unlikely to see many new faces in the next federal parliament. However, looking at the craze for independent candidates in this election, the chances of independents bagging a good number of seats also seems high. If the election results end up with the same old faces at the top echelon, then the post-election environment might be worrisome, considering the growing dissatisfaction of the people towards the political parties and their leaders. The country might enter into a political chaos. It is hoped that the voters will use their common sense while choosing their representatives. 

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj