Nepal has a history of elections being fiercely contested over ideology, as well as political and economic programmes, especially among forces that have mobilised for change. Following the democratic movement of 1990, the Nepali Congress (NC) stood in favour of liberalising the economy with elaborate market reforms. The CPN-UML and other communist parties, on the other hand, advocated for a stronger government intervention in the market, opposed liberalisation, and took a rigid position on external aid and treaties. In recent years, two Constituent Assembly elections were contested for structural changes in Nepal’s social and political institutions, with competing visions put forth by the Maoist party, Madhesh-based parties and the two major parties—NC and UML. The contestation of these agendas has not only helped in the national political settlement but has also deepened Nepali democracy.

It is not unreasonable to expect the upcoming elections, being held in the aftermath of widespread protests that claimed 76 lives and left thousands injured, to be contested on issues and agendas of the aggrieved population: the youths. In any mature democracy, voters look beyond flashy campaigns and pose some basic questions to their candidates: Why should I vote for you? What are your main political and development agendas? However, following the September protests, there is a risk of society losing its grip on a nuanced discourse, amid social media cacophony and contestation for the grand narrative.

Numbers and narrative

The general exhortations during the September protests called for a rejection of the old and corrupt leadership that has remained in power for the last two decades. While these demands are consistent with democratic aspirations of the people, seeking generational change and integrity in leadership, they are not a call to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Every political party, young or old, that contests within the constitutional framework is a national institution which enriches our democracy and deserves a level playing field. So, muddying the public discourse, to present the new as clean and the old as corrupt, amounts to hijacking the narrative through algorithmic support and disrupting a fair contest. Which is why we need facts and data to empower the people and help them make informed choices.

No major political parties contesting the upcoming polls can genuinely claim to be inclusive. All of them are led by men from the privileged caste groups, including the popular Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which has no women, Dalit or Janajati among its officebearers. Following the September protests, the NC and the UML have made some efforts to be more inclusive in their top leadership structure. For instance, the NC’s recent convention elected Pushpa Bhusal as its vice president, and the party now has eight joint secretaries, each representing gender, caste, religious and ethnic/indigenous population. Responding to the youth discontents, the party members risked an internal revolt to replace ageing and ailing Sher Bahadur Deuba at the top. The UML, on the other hand, failed to replace unpopular KP Oli, but it now has two janajati leaders as his deputies, as well as a Madheshi and a Dalit at the party’s secretary levels. Both parties have recently elected new central committee members, which is younger and more inclusive than the previous one.

However, the parties were criticised during the submission of their Proportional Representation (PR) candidate list, where top leaders continued to favour old loyalists, family and friends. Ironically, even the RSP’s PR list was criticised for the same reason, which shows how the new parties have not been an exception in this regard. But a closer look at the candidates fielded by the parties in the direct elections reveals a changing picture.

In 2022, the mean age of candidates fielded by the NC was around 59 years, which has significantly dropped to 55.6 years in this election. Out of the total candidates fielded for direct elections, 43 percent are in the age group between 41 and 55 years. However, the party continues to disappoint with only 6.7 percent of direct-elections candidate women and less than 2 percent Dalits, although it has done well in fielding more than 30 percent of its candidates from Madheshi, Janajati and Muslim clusters. The UML closely mirrors the NC in its disaggregated candidate selection, which indicates the party may be beginning to respond to demographic demands.

While the two traditional parties struggle to re-establish their relevance among a largely young voting population, the new parties are comfortably riding the anti-incumbency tide. The most prominent among them, the RSP, has projected itself as the flag-bearer of the ‘Gen Z movement’. The party has a low mean candidate age, with nearly 43 percent below the age of 40 and 48 percent between the ages of 41 and 55 years. This signals the party’s willingness to give the political mantle to youth, although the lack of sufficient experience could also limit the RSP’s effective parliamentary role in dealing with complex political and governance issues. It is surprising to see a party that strongly believes in meritocracy conveniently piggybacking on popular faces emerging from the streets, rather than focusing on actual agendas.

The RSP also projected itself as a new political alternative, criticising the mainstream parties for being exclusive in their leadership. However, at 62.3 percent, the party has the highest number of candidates from the so-called privileged hill-caste group, alongside the pro-monarchy RPP. The party also has only 10 percent direct-elections candidates from the janajati background and 1.3 percent Dalits, significantly less than the ‘old parties’. To their credit, the party has fielded 9.8 percent women candidates, the highest among the major contesting parties.

Election sans agenda

We are less than a month away from the polls, and very few parties and candidates have bothered to interact with voters on their political programmes, especially those focusing on youth and their concerns. Instead, youths are being used as fodder to fuel election campaigns, raising concerns about electoral violence. Social media platforms are replete with flashy videos of candidates, hopping from district to district, gracing the cameras and campaigns with limited interaction with the electorate. Candidates are making rhetorical promises of change and young leadership, with no specifics about what exactly they are proposing to deliver. Sadly, the anger and frustration with the past are leading the voters to turn a blind eye to their future. Facebook has replaced the real face-time between the candidates and voters, who seem to have made up their mind, no questions asked.

Former US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said that democracy alone cannot survive if those who exercise democratic rights fail to do so wisely. His predecessor Abraham Lincoln had a stronger caution: Elections belong to the people, and if they decide to turn their back on the fire, they will just have to sit on their blisters. With over 75 percent literacy rate and over 90 percent smartphone access, Nepali voters are fully capable of making informed choices. Unless they prefer sitting on their blisters for the next four years.