Nepal readies for pivotal post-uprising vote

Nepal set up polling centres on Wednesday for one of its most hotly contested elections since the end of civil war in 2006, six months after deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government. The Himalayan republic will elect a new parliament on Thursday, replacing the interim government that has led the country of 30 million people since the September 2025 uprising in which at least 77 people were killed. In the heart of the capital, at Kathmandu's Durbar Square — a UN World Heritage site of pagoda temples and medieval splendour — election officials erected polling booths set to open soon after dawn on Thursday. Helicopters have flown voter materials to snowbound mountain regions across Nepal, home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest.

"All activities are complete," Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari told reporters on Wednesday. "All the necessary ballot papers, boxes and other election materials have been delivered." Sushila Karki, the interim prime minister, has urged people to vote "without any fear".

But this time, attention has shifted to the hot farming plains south of the capital, where all three prime ministerial hopefuls are contesting seats — a departure from past elections that focused on Kathmandu. That includes the usually sleepy eastern town of Jhapa, the site of a head-to-head contest between two key rivals. KP Sharma Oli, the 74-year-old Marxist leader ousted as prime minister last year and seeking a return to power, is being challenged in his home constituency by former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician.

Shah, from the centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has cast himself as a symbol of youth-driven political change, encouraging voters to "ring the bell" of change, in reference to the party symbol. While nearly 19 million voters are registered nationwide, the Jhapa-5 constituency — with around 163,000 voters — will determine whether Oli secures his seat or whether Shah enters parliament. "This is a high-risk area — the competition is between the popular candidates," said Jhapa chief election officer Bidur Kumar Karki, saying police and soldiers have been deployed.

"We feel that this place is secure and there has been no incident... I would request all voters to actively participate." Also in the race as aspiring prime minister is Gagan Thapa, 49, the new head of the country's oldest party, Nepali Congress, who has told AFP he wanted to end the "old age" club of revolving veteran leaders. Thapa is running in the Sarlahi constituency, a mainly farming district bordering India. More than half of Nepal's population lives in the rural plains of the southern Madhesh districts in the lush "Terai" grasslands fed by Himalayan snowmelt.

The election has seen a wave of younger candidates promising to tackle Nepal's woeful economy, challenging veteran politicians who have dominated for two decades and argue that their experience guarantees stability and security. It has also seen a shift by key candidates wanting to show their national leadership potential by running in seats outside the capital. "Lasting peace is possible only through national unity, and for that, a sense of ownership in the southern belt is vital," Indra Adhikari, a writer on politics and security affairs, told AFP. The key figures — Oli, Shah and Thapa — will all still vote in the capital, with voting to open on Thursday at 7:00 am (0115 GMT), and close at 5:00 pm.

Voters will elect 275 members of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament — 165 directly, with a further 110 chosen via a party-list proportional representation. Analysts say the vote is unlikely to deliver an outright majority for any single party. It could take several days for full results — and longer if negotiations for a coalition government prove tricky. Chhabilal Koirala, 61, a farmer in Jhapa, sought to temper expectations. "The young show some hope, yes," he told AFP. "But when they win and rise to power, my worry is they will be the same as the old ones — they won't do anything."

Agence France-Presse