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.