Kathmandu: Millions of people began voting on Sunday to elect a new Parliament and provincial Assemblies amid tight security, hoping to end the political instability that has plagued the nation for more than a decade and impeded growth.
Polling started at 7 AM local time at over 22,000 polling centers and will close by 5PM. The future of the democratic experiment itself seems to be at stake as Nepal votes to elect its 11th government since 2008. Voters are already in widespread anger and despair. India has vital stakes in the country and is keeping its cards close, waiting and watching.
Around 18 million eligible voters will vote in Nepal to elect a new fedral and provincial legislatures, the second election ever since the nation’s controversial constitution was promulgated in 2015. The Neapli Congress led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, the communist Unisfied Marxist-Leninst (UML) party led by KP Sharma Oil and the Maoist Centre led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal are the main political leaders of this electoral fray.