Expectations that Nepal’s Gen Z movement would translate into a unified political force capable of challenging traditional parties have fallen short, as new political groups have failed to come together ahead of the March 5 elections. Weeks of negotiations and parallel efforts to form electoral alliances have not yet yielded results.

After the Gen Z movement in September demanding good governance and anti-corruption actions, among other things, many believed that new political parties would emerge in Nepal’s political landscape and challenge the so-called traditional parties.

No notable new political force was registered at the Election Commission within the November 26 deadline set by the commission for the March 5 polls. Nonetheless, a few new parties, including the Shram Sanskriti Party, Ujyalo Nepal Party (UNP) and Gatisheel Loktantrik Party were registered with elections in mind.

The patron of the UNP, announced with former energy secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyay as its chair, is Kulman Ghising, who holds the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, along with two other ministries in the interim government.

Ghising is widely credited with playing a key role in significantly reducing load-shedding back in 2016 during his first term as head of the Nepal Electricity Authority. The outages at one time lasted up to 18 hours daily.

Ghising was appointed for a second term as the head of the NEA as well, but as his tenure neared its end, the government of the CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress removed him in March earlier this year.

There were efforts to bring together figures who had emerged from the Gen Z movement, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and the UNP as well. This process also involved Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, who won as an independent in the 2022 local level elections, along with individuals close to him.

However, despite numerous efforts, they could not come together to move forward as a single force. The UNP has already been registered with the Election Commission with the electric bulb as its election symbol. On Friday, the party formally announced its establishment.

Although the two parties–the RSP and the UNP–have not been able to move forward as a single force, attempts to form an electoral alliance are still under way, according to a UNP leader.

“We held intensive discussions with the RSP even before our party was formally registered with the election commission. The talks went as far as discussing a change in the name of the Rastriya Swatantra Party to either Ujyalo Rastriya Swatantra Party or Rastriya Ujyalo Party,” the leader claimed. “However, as the discussions failed to reach a substantive conclusion, we were compelled to establish a separate party. That said, discussions on a poll-oriented alliance between us are still ongoing.”

However, an RSP leader involved in the dialogue with the UNP argues that an election-focused alliance remains a different prospect and that discussions are still centred on unity itself. According to him, the process of printing ballot papers has not yet begun, and since the UNP is a new party, issues related to its election symbol would not pose a significant obstacle. For these reasons, he believes there is still room for unity.

However, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson for the Election Commission, said that once a party is officially registered with the Commission, it cannot contest an election using the symbol of another party institutionally. But, individuals may still use another party’s election symbol to contest in personal capacity.

The same RSP leader also said that although efforts towards unity continue, agreement has yet to be reached on fundamental issues. The main obstacle to party unification, he explained, is the question of portfolio.

“Besides, the UNP had been demanding equal status in the central committee of the unified party. At present, they are seeking at least 30 to 35 percent share of the central committee. This is a sticking point,” the RSP leader told the Post on the condition of anonymity to discuss the developments.

In addition, RSP leaders want the issue of party unification to be discussed directly between the top leaders—RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane and UNP patron Kulman Ghising. They argue that such dialogue could lead to a meaningful outcome. Such discussions have not yet taken place, said an RSP leader.

RSP chair Lamichhane is in judicial custody in connection with a cooperative fraud case. He has spent most of the past year in custody, being held in Pokhara, Bhairahawa and, recently, at the Nakkhu Prison in Lalitpur.

Upadhyay, the UNP chair, denied the possibility of party unification but called for an electoral alliance. “If we are to give a tough challenge to the traditional parties in the election, then there is no excuse for alternative forces but to come together,” Upadhyay said.

Meanwhile, Sudan Gurung, who has emerged as a leading figure of the Gen Z movement, claims that efforts are underway not only to bring together the RSP and the UNP, but also to unite former education minister Sumana Shrestha who quit the RSP after the Gen Z uprising; Dhangadhi mayor Gopi Hamal; Sagar Dhakal, who challenged Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba in the 2022 House of Representatives election; social activist Ashika Tamang; Dharan mayor Harka Sampang; and others under a single platform.

“We are trying to organise a meeting involving all the representatives of alternative forces,” Gurung told the Post.

Gurung, who claims to be working to bring alternative political forces together, visited Lamichhane at Nakkhu Prison on Friday. During the meeting, Gurung said, Lamichhane was positive about building a unified alternative political force.