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
Ukraine president to meet European allies after Trump criticism
- Talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough
- President Donald Trump accuses Ukrainian leader of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia
LONDON: Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet with European allies in London on Monday, after President Donald Trump accused him of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia.
It comes after days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough, with Zelensky committing to further negotiations.
The Ukrainian president will be received in London by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with the German chancellor and French president to discuss the negotiations.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is meanwhile expected in Washington on Monday, where she will meet her American counterpart Marco Rubio.
“The UK and US will reaffirm their commitment to reaching a peace deal in Ukraine,” the Foreign Office in London said, announcing Cooper’s visit.
Moscow has meanwhile continued to strike its neighbor, wounding at least nine people overnight Sunday to Monday, according to Ukrainian officials.
‘Disappointed’
Zelensky said he joined his negotiators for a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during the Miami negotiations.
“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed “on the next steps and the format of the talks with America.”
But Trump criticized his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, telling reporters “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago.”
Witkoff and Kushner had met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin last week, with Moscow rejecting parts of the US proposal.
French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of Monday’s talks slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path.”
“We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible,” Macron wrote on X.
He added: “We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace.”
Hot and cold
Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the almost four-year war involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get has so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially embracing Putin and chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he has also grown frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, including a summit in Alaska, have failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
