Nepal: Polls due in five months, interim government must win trust of parties, voters

The interim government formed in Nepal after the Gen Z uprising last month has its task cut out. It not only has the mandate of bringing to book those responsible for 75 deaths that occurred in clashes between the police and protestors on September 8 as well as vandalism and arson on the following day but also to conduct elections on March 5.

Though the new prime minister, Sushila Karki, has been saying that the government will hold the elections on that date, her biggest challenge will be to rebuild the electorate’s trust in political parties, without whose participation the polls will have no legitimacy.

Since Nepal abolished the monarchy and declared itself a federal democratic republic in 2008, it has had a choppy political transition: it has seen 14 governments, none completing their full tenure. As a result, public scepticism about the political system has significantly increased.

When Karki delivered her Constitution Day address on September 19, she had been expected to urge political parties to assume greater responsibility in restoring confidence in the democratic system – particularly at a moment when traditional parties find themselves on the defensive.

Such a call was essential, given that no leader of a major party has expressed any commitment to...

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