Nepal elections: Voters caught in a Shakespearian dilemma - to vote or not to vote

Barefooted Laxmi Maya has spent her entire day weeding fields of ripening wheat near Pharping, 10 km south of Kathmandu. A young man on the campaign trail, sporting a bright multi-coloured Nepali cap, stops her to ask a question. Laxmi Maya responds with a wide grin and replies: "I have already decided, I am going to vote for the fish."Meen Bahadur, a 20-year-old student at Tri-Chandra College in Kathmandu emerges from his one-room tenement every evening for a stroll down the capital's fashionable thoroughfare, New Road. When asked who he has decided to vote for, Bahadur responds cynically: "Vote? What vote? You call this an election? Look at Democracy Wall. Who stops to read those posters? The election is a farce."With less than a fortnight to go before the general elections - the first after a lapse of 21 years - Nepal's 7.6 million voters are caught in a Shakespearian dilemma: to vote or not to vote. The major opposition groups have called for a boycott. "No honourable person can abide by the features of the new Constitution. We intend to go to the people and persuade them to boycott the polls," said B.P. Koirala, the ailing leader of the banned Nepali Congress from his hospital bed at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.Koirala : BoycottThe Panchayat Government led by Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa is however determined to go ahead with the elections and prove that the majority of the Nepalese will exercise their right to vote. The legitimacy of the Panchayat Government will largely depend on the voter turn-out on May 9. An unprecedented 1,100 candidates have entered the election fray for the 112 seats in the Rashtriya Panchayat: the national legislature. The other 28 seats in the 140-member House will be nominated by King Birendra.Initiative: A candidate's saleability depends on his own initiative because Nepal's constitution does not permit other organised parties. With the high level of illiteracy, the remoteness of the mountain districts of Nepal, and the amorphous nature of the electorate, a candidate's image can be established only through aggressive door-to-door campaigns. Those candidates who have the blessings of the Government have access to funds which can be effectively utilised in publicity campaigns. Posters of official candidates like Kamal Rana and Jog Meher Shrestha - both stalwarts of the Panchayat System - far outnumber those of the other 32 candidates contesting elections in Kathmandu.But rebel 'panchas' like former education minister Pashupati S. Rana are not deterred by the lack of government support. Rana does not mince words to berate Thapa's government. Says he: "Never in the history of Nepal has there been as much rampant corruption as there is today." The dissensions within the Panchayat camp are evident from Rana's comments.Thapa: HopefulPerhaps the most intriguing development of the election scene in urban Kathmandu is what has come to be described in intellectual circles as the "Nani Maiya Phenomenon". Nani Maiya Dahal, a 37-year-old divorcee with no formal education, and daughter of a poor peasant family has generated a popularity wave that promises to launch her into the nation's highest legislative body. Down-to-earth, blunt, and a champion of the downtrodden, Dahal has become the talk of the town.There is every likelihood that if the trend continues, Dahal, whom her fellow contestants describe as the "crazy" candidate, will become the Opposition's gift to the newly elected house. The election fever, comparatively lukewarm by any yardstick, is much stronger in the countryside where 90 per cent of Nepal's 14 million people lives. Every rural activity, including volleyball tournaments, are geared to the elections. The chief guest at any gathering in a village, if he happens to be a candidate, receives a boost to his image. Never before have the villagers felt more important, with candidates virtually begging at the doorstep for votes. Names of candidates have been eclipsed by their election symbols. "Yesterday 'monkey' delivered a talk at the village council hall. 'Umbrella' is very upset because all his posters have been pulled down by 'duck' supporters," sums up the election talk.Dahal: SurpriseEgocentric Games:There is every indication that there will be a fair degree of participation in the rural areas. The Opposition call for a boycott is likely to be heeded only in the urban centres. In spite of the setback suffered by supporters of the multiparty system in the May '80 referendum, the Opposition camp is still a house in disarray. All efforts to form a united front have been stymied by personalities from various parties who insist on playing their egocentric games.B.P. Koirala still remains the charismatic leader in the Opposition, but time is fast running out for him. There is growing disenchantment in the party's younger cadre towards his repetitive calls for national reconciliation. But Koirala justifies his stand with the argument that Nepal's sovereignty depends on cooperation between the Crown and the democratic forces. "We are the only organised political force in the country. If we do not behave sensibly, disorganised forces will have the upper hand," Koirala told India Today.The major Communist group led by Man Mohan Adhikari - who claims to be independent of any foreign communist tutelage - rules out the use of violence to achieve his end because of the geopolitical vulnerability of Nepal. "Nepal cannot play the dangerous game of playing one power against the other. Even the Chinese have allegedly warned the Government that they cannot sit back and relax if Nepalese politics is going to be internationalised." said Adhikari.Adhikari: Non-violentThe burgeoning role of foreign powers was amply underscored by the decision of the pro-Moscow Rayamajhi faction to contest elections - one of the few aberrations in the Opposition call for a boycott. Grim-faced Madan Mani Dixit, a former editor of a Kathmandu weekly, defended the pro-Moscow Communist group's decision to contest elections. "A country's national legislature, and an adult citizen's right to vote representatives to it, is no joke," said Dixit.High Stakes: Perhaps the highest stakes in the coming elections are the prime minister's. Thapa has already been accused of employing aggressive tactics to enhance his election prospects in Dhankuta, his home constituency. Krishna Pokhrel, one of the candidates in Dhankuta, says: "Even the Panchas feel insecure. The chances of a free and fair election have dimmed." Should Thapa win the elections, and secure the 60 per cent needed to become prime minister, he will emerge as one of the most powerful prime ministers since the overthrow of the Ranas in 1950.King Birendra's hopes, Thapa's hopes, and the Opposition's hopes will all depend on the composition of the new House. If there is a constitutional crisis within a few months, King Birendra may be compelled to accommodate the moderate democratic forces. "We are exercising restraint. The moment we confront the king, the country will be lost," said the indefatigable Ganesh Man Singh, B.P. Koirala's colleague in the banned Nepali Congress.The continued polarisation of supporters of the multiparty system (45 per cent of the electorate) and the Panchayat system does not augur well for the Himalayan kingdom. Whatever the outcome of the general eletions, the only sensible course for Nepalese politics is to evolve a system that can accommodate all the political forces in the mainstream irrespective of differences in ideology.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 26, 2014 13:11 IST--- ENDS ---

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Nepal elections: Voters caught in a Shakespearian dilemma - to vote or not to vote

With less than a fortnight to go before the general elections - the first after a lapse of 21 years - Nepal's 7.6 million voters are caught in a Shakespearian dilemma: to vote or not to vote.

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