Nepalis have chosen a new government, what will change?
2022.11.20 11:36
Nepalis have chosen a new government, what will change?
Budrigannews.com – Millions of Nepalis went to polls on Sunday to elect a new government to lead the Himalayan nation in a time of economic peril.
In the general election, many women in sarees and men in jeans and baseball caps stood in long queues to vote, and the centre-right Nepalese Parliamentary Party, led by Prime Minister Sher-Bahadur Deuba, was a communist Marxist- Fought against the Leninist Unionist Party.
Rising prices and the prospect of poor jobs were at the top of the agenda.
“I have a job, food, clothes, education, health services and I voted for economic development,” said Rajesh Kumar Subedi, 52, who was the first to vote at a polling station in Faim-Ramtuli outside the capital Kathmandu. .
After the poll concluded, Chief Elections Commissioner Dinesh Thapalia said preliminary estimates put 18 percent of the country’s 610,000 eligible voters down, compared with 68 percent seen in the last election in 2017. said he would cast a ballot of
“It’s less than we expected,” he said.
One person was killed in a clash during the vote, but it was mostly peaceful, Thapalia added.
The elections commission said counting votes in many places would start late on Sunday. It may take up to two weeks to declare final results.
Political analysts expect the ruling coalition in Nepal’s parliament and some former Mao Zedong rebels to stay in power, but there were no pre-election polls.
Political stability has proved elusive for the poor country, which sits between China and India, putting off many investors. Nepal has 10 governments and has abolished a 239-year-old monarchy since 2008, when a 239-year-old monarchy was abolished.
At a time of concern that a global recession could cut remittances, which account for about a quarter of gross domestic product (GDP), the new government will try to revive the economy and keep high prices in check.
Tourism, which contributed 4% to GDP before the pandemic, has yet to fully recover. Some 450,000 tourists visited Nepal in the first 10 months of this year, less than half the number seen in all of 2019 before the COVID pandemic.
Foreign exchange reserves are shrinking and retail inflation is at a six-year high of about 8%.
“We need political stability for the government that can ensure faster economic and security growth for investors,” said Prakash Thapa, 25, another voter in the suburb of Phaimlamchuli. rice field.
The 275 members of parliament and the 550 members of Nepal’s state legislatures are elected through a combination of first office and proportional representation.
