KATMANDU: Hundreds of thousands of new voters have registered to cast their ballot in Nepal’s first polls since a mass uprising in September ousted the government, election officials said on Sunday.
Election Commission spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said there was “a total of 837,094 registered names” of first-time voters.
Bhattarai said that by Friday, 123 established parties had registered to take part in the March 5 parliamentary polls, while another 40 new slates await further verification to be allowed to run.
Interest in participating in the elections has surged, especially among young people who see it as a critical test of whether the demands of protesters who took to the streets against economic hardships and government corruption can translate into meaningful change.
Dikshya Poudel, a 19-year-old student, said the uprising had encouraged her to register her name last week.
“I am excited to cast my vote for the first time in the upcoming election. I will be voting for a new changemaker,” she said.
The protests were initially triggered by a brief ban on social media but quickly morphed into a nationwide anti-corruption movement.
At least 76 people were killed during the demonstrations, and parliament, courts and government offices were torched.
Four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli, 73, was ousted, with former chief justice Sushila Karki, also 73, replacing him in an interim capacity until elections.
Years of economic stagnation and entrenched corruption had primed the Himalayan nation of 30 million people for upheaval.
“I dream of seeing new faces in politics who can create jobs, eradicate poverty, and make Nepal a better place to live so that youths like me won’t have to go abroad,” Poudel said.
The unrest has further weakened Nepal’s already fragile economy, with the World Bank warning in October that “heightened political and economic uncertainty are expected to cause growth to decline” to 2.1 percent.
The institution estimates a “staggering” 82 percent of Nepal’s workforce is in informal employment, with GDP per capita at $1,447 in 2024.
Over 800,000 new voters register for Nepal post-uprising polls
https://arab.news/ru8ez
Over 800,000 new voters register for Nepal post-uprising polls
- 123 established parties had registered to take part in the March 5 parliamentary polls
- While another 40 new slates await further verification to be allowed to run
Tarique Rahman-led BNP set to form Bangladesh’s next government after major election win
- Jamaat-e-Islami, banned during Hasina’s government, won 68 seats
- Majority of Bangladeshis endorsed sweeping reforms in national referendum
DHAKA: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, is set to form the country’s next government after securing a more than two-thirds majority in the first elections since a student-led uprising in 2024 ousted ex-prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
The BNP has won at least 209 seats out of the 299 contested, according to the latest election results released by the Election Commission on Friday, paving the way for Rahman to become the country’s next prime minister.
Jamaat-e-Islami, banned during Hasina’s 15 years in power, has registered its best performance yet, winning at least 68 seats and emerging as the main opposition party.
The National Citizen Party, which was born out of the 2024 protests, was in third place with six seats, including for its leader Nahid Islam, while Hasina’s Awami League was barred from participating in the elections.
The majority of Bangladeshis also reportedly voted “yes” in a national referendum on the “July National Charter” that was held alongside the general vote on Thursday.
Named after the month when the uprising that toppled Hasina began, the charter is aimed at achieving sweeping democratic reforms to prevent authoritarian administrations, including term limits for premiers, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence, while also proposing increased representation of women in parliament.
The BNP-led government is likely to follow the commitments made under the charter, said Prof. A.S.M. Amanullah, vice chancellor of the National University in Dhaka, adding that the implementation of the July charter was also included in the party’s election manifesto that covers reform of the state and rebuilding of the economy.
“Mr. Tarique Rahman is a highly trained politician, highly sensitive politician, and he takes decisions based on facts. I believe he prepared himself to run this country locally and play a role internationally,” Amanullah told Arab News.
Rahman is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman. He returned to Bangladesh late last year after nearly two decades of self-imposed exile in the UK, and assumed BNP’s leadership days later, following his mother’s death from a prolonged illness.
In an interview with Arab News earlier this week, the 60-year-old pledged to pursue accountability for the former leadership and meet the political and economic expectations of the youth movement that brought about the change.
The new government is likely to be a mix of young and old politicians, Amanullah said, with Jemaat-e-Islami set to balance out the BNP’s rule.
“This is a very good size of opposition to press the issues or to challenge the government on different issues, different policies and decisions of the government. I’m hopeful about Jemaat,” he said.
“The way the people voted for these major two parties, the BNP and Jemaat, I think if they could work jointly, Bangladesh should see a stable political situation in the near future.”
Mohiuddin Ahmad, a political analyst and researcher, described Jemaat-e-Islami as “the most organized party” in Bangladesh and that it would therefore play an “instrumental” role as the opposition party.
Voter turnout averaged 59.44 percent, the EC said, with many Bangladeshis considering this week’s vote as their first “free and fair” election after more than 17 years.
“Such a result of an election we haven’t actually experienced before,” Muhiuddin Iqbal, a history student at Dhaka University, told Arab News.
“The festive feeling has not gone yet, so we’re very much excited about it and hopeful for the future.”
