The Nepali government faces massive protests from opposition groups seeking to prevent Nepal’s post-monarchy elections for November 19.
After more than a year of gridlock following Nepal’s dissolved first Constituent Assembly (CA) which failed to issue a new constitution, the Nepali people are preparing for its second CA election.
Nepal’s CA election is crucial because the country is currently ruled by an interim constitution without effective checks and balances of power.
Nepal will hopefully enter a new stage of progress under the leadership of Chief Justice (CJ) Khil Raj Regmi was sworn in as the new Nepali prime minister in March 2013 after Baburam Bhattarai resigned.
A group of 33 parties led by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist has expressed their dissatisfaction over the election and decided to disrupt progress after their demands were not addressed by the High-Level Political Committee.
However, neighboring countries and the international community support the upcoming election as they view it as the best opportunity for maintaining peace and stability in Nepal. On her September 15 visit to Nepal, Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said that India is in favor of the CA election on November 19.
Meanwhile, parties involved in the election are busy conducting election campaign all over the nation. The Election Commission is also busy educating Nepali citizens on voting rules and regulations. But the recent protests from the 33 political parties led by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist are attempting to disrupt the election and overthrow the Kathmandu government.
Some parts of Nepal are highly affected by the anti-election coalition parties’ transport strike, and government security forces will be deployed in response to a scheduled 10-day protest prior to the November 19 election date.
Moreover, explosives are being found planted in some areas to create terror in the campaign. Dozens of vehicles used for election campaigning have been torched by an unidentified group in various parts of the country. This kind of rising anti-election activity has terrorized Nepali citizens and instilled fear to challenge their demands.
As Nepal grips with these stark challenges, political parties should act responsibly. Still, in this age, Nepal is facing a huge power outage due to the incompetence of the past government and lack of accountability among the leaders. Because of a lack of employment opportunities, hundreds of youth emigrate each day. Therefore, there a stable government to help guide Nepal’s through these turbulent times is essential.
Raju Dawadi is a computer engineering student at Himalaya College of Engineering in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is a tech enthusiast, blogger, social worker and interested in national and international affairs. Follow Raju on Twitter @dwdRAJU.
