Nepal Local Elections 2022 – What to Know!

On May 13th, 2022, Nepal will have only its second local elections since the new constitution (2015). These elections are in 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities, and 460 rural municipalities. For those who are not Nepali or are visiting Nepal, here’s what you might want to know.

Severe Limits on Travel during these local elections

What might surprise visitors to Nepal, is that all international borders will be closed 72 hours before the election. Borders will be closed until election polls close on election day. Only emergency services and vehicles with government permits will be allowed.

There is also a ban on flights. All domestic flights, except rescue and relief flights, will be grounded on election day.

Also on election day, no cars, trucks, buses, or motorbikes will be allowed on the roads the day of the election. The day before the election, it was reported that over 80,000 people left Kathmandu valley ahead of the travel restrictions.

Other limits on the candidates and political parties

Nepal has a “silence period” which is 48 hours before the polls open. This means that candidates and political parties are not allowed to campaign during this time. So, that meant there were very large rallies the night before the “silence period” was to begin. The “silence period” lasts until voting centers are closed.

Also, there is a ban on any political materials being posted within 300 meters (1000ft) of polling centers. This includes anything on clothing such as symbols related to any political parties or candidates.

Who will be voting in the local elections?

To be eligible to vote, Nepalis must be 18 years old the day before the elections. To vote, their names must be registered with the Election Commission.

Out of 17.73 million total registered voters, 8.74 million are females and 8.99 million are males. There is no system for Nepalis living overseas to vote. 

Who are they voting for in the local elections?

The local level elections will be held for 753 local levels and 6743 wards. Each local level has a Chairperson/Mayor and a Deputy chairperson/Deputy Mayor. Local levels are further divided into wards that have one ward chairperson and 4 members. Of these four, 2 must be female and 1 must be from the Dalit community.

How do people vote in Nepal?

Voters in the local elections will use the older system which uses paper ballots and will be counted by hand. Voters will get their fingers marked with indelible ink before they get ballot paper.

Each ballot paper will have seven columns. One column each for:

Since the ballots don’t include the candidates’ names, it is up to the voter to know what party symbol they are.

Who are the major political parties?

There are over 100 political parties registered in Nepal for 2022. But for this post, we will give a few details about the six major political parties.

There are so many political parties in Nepal, but these are the top five:

Communist Party of Nepal (UML)

नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (एमाले) = [nepaal kamyunishT paarTi (emaale)] Nepal Communist Party (CPN UML: Unified Marxist-Leninist) is the largest communist party in Nepal. It was founded in 1991. The party symbol for this election is the “Sun”.

Nepali Congress

नेपाली काँग्रेस = [nepaali konggres] Nepali Congress Party (NCP) is the political party that started the democratic movement in 1950 to end the Rana regime in Nepal. The NCP wanted to give the political power to the common people of Nepal. It is a reform-oriented centrist party and its ideology includes social democracy and democratic socialism. Its election symbol is the “Tree”.

Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)

नेपाल कमयुनिस्ट पार्टी (माओवादी-केन्द्र) = [nepaal kamyunishT paarTi (maaaobaadi-kendra)] Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre) follows the ideology of Marxism, Leninism and Maoism. Its symbol is the “hammer and sickle”. The party launched “Nepalese People’s War” in 1996. This civil war led to the collapse of the Nepali kingdom in 2008 and the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

CPN (Unified Socialist)

नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी (एकीकृत समाजवादी) = [nepaal kamyunishT paarTi (ekikrata samaajawaadi)] The CPN (Unified Socialist) is the fourth largest Nepali political party. It was started in 2021 after its members split from the CPN (UML). The party’s ideology is Marxism–Leninism and supports a multi-party system. It’s party symbol is a “pen”.

People’s Socialist Party, Nepal

जनता समाजवादी पार्टी, नेपाल = [janataa samaajbadi paarTi, nepaal] The People’s Socialist Party is the fifth largest political party in Nepal. It is also known as the Janata Samajbadi Party. It was formed by the merger of the two parties, the Samajbadi Party and the Rastriya Janata Party in 2020. The “umbrella” is its symbol.

Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal

लोकतान्त्रिक समाजवादी पार्टी = [loktaantrik samaajwaadi paarTi] The Loktantrik Samajwadi Party was established in 2021. Its symbol is the “bicycle”.

Conclusion

This information gives some insight into what is happening in Nepal for these local elections. I am excited too because my host brother is running for ward chairman. I know he would be a good leader for the community. But we’ll see on election day if that will be his future.

References:

• List of political parties in Nepal
• 2022 Nepalese local elections
• Local Level Election In Nepal-2022
• Nepal govt to close its border points for 72 hrs prior to local elections
• What to know: Nepal’s local elections 2022
• Major political parties of Nepal, History and their Chairman
• Political Parties
• Election FAQs: Nepal
• Local polls: Silence period to come into effect from Tuesday midnight

Feature Photo by Punya – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,