Message Of Local By-election

Even when the major political parties have failed to win over voters as expected in the fresh local-level by-polls, the results have instilled a sort of confidence among them to fight forthcoming elections independently. The by-polls were held on December 1 to elect 44 local government representatives in 32 districts. Of them, two district coordination committee representatives and one ward chairman were elected unopposed. People cast their votes to elect 41 representatives. 

Enthusiasm

As the political parties were unable to deliver on their promises, it was natural for the people to be frustrated. Pro-monarchists and other anti-systemic forces were becoming more active. Various anomalies and prevalent poor service delivery appear to have propelled such forces to be involved in undesirable activities. Despite such a scenario, voters’ turnout in the by-polls - 62 per cent - was quite enthusiastic.. People’s enthusiastic participation in the by-elections can be taken as a clear indication that they are in favour of institutionalising the federal republican setup. The poor performance of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) shows that the public support is for the forces that are dedicated to the federal system of governance. People have also wanted parties to have clear agendas and strong commitments.

Looking at the past trend, the CPN-Maoist Centre was expected to suffer a setback in the polls. But the party was able to secure three more seats.  The ex-rebel force had been successful in becoming the largest party in terms of the number of seats it had won in the first constituent assembly elections held in 2008. But the party had been unable to retain its votes and seats in succeeding elections due to its poor performance. Its leaders were accused of being guided by growing greed for power while its cadres were blamed for being involved in making fast buck. Even the party’s rank and file has realised this. However, the by-poll results have shown that the party still possesses a good organisational base at the grassroots level. One of its evidences is that the party’s candidate for deputy chairperson of Pritha Uttarganga Rural Municipality was able to defeat a common candidate of the ruling NC and UML.   

The UML has also been able to win three more seats. But the party has failed to restore its past glory in Kirtipur. Known as ‘a communist stronghold’, Kirtipur had seen UML representatives elected in numerous elections in the past. However, the NC that had won a majority of seats in Kirtipur Municipality in the last election has retained its victory there. The main factor behind the party’s victory again in Kirtipur is that the leftist forces like UML, CPN-Maoist Centre and Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party were fighting independently. Since their candidates cut one another’s votes, the NC candidate has got the opportunity to win the election. But the party has lost several seats in different districts due to various factors. Yet, the party has secured more than 43 per cent of the total seats in the by-polls. 

It has been a great setback for the NC in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City-16. The RSP’s candidate defeated the NC ward chairperson aspirant there. This is the only constituency the RSP has won this time. Many candidates of RSP have faced a humiliating defeat. With this victory, the party has now participation in the local government. As the RSP’s president Rabi Lamichhane has now been in police custody for the investigation of his involvement in multiple cooperative frauds, the newly-emerged force seems to have lost its popularity. Despite being unclear ideologically, the party was able to gain popularity in no time because of the non-performance of the old forces like the NC, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre.

Some four months back, the two main governing parties—the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML—had given an indication that they may not forge a pre-poll alliance with any forces in the polls to be held in 2027  (2084 B.S.). The main reason for such a resolution was that they had to face criticisms from their cadres as well as well-wishers for forming pre-poll alliance with one party or the other. They conceded the fact that forging an association with other parties had caused damage to them. 

Several NC youth leaders, including general secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa, were not in favour of forging a pre-electoral coalition in the last local, provincial and federal elections. They felt that the party’s organisational base was becoming weaker as its cadres and supporters were either turning inactive or defecting the party. But the party had opted for forming an alliance. Consequently, it had to give even its preferred constituencies to its coalition partners.  

Service delivery

As all the parties are assessing their performances in the by-election results, they may come to a conclusion regarding a pre-election alliance. Being the key stakeholders, they must dedicate themselves to making local governments more dynamic and effective in dealing with the local issues and public concerns. Because the local governments are the closest to the people, they have a vital role to play in delivering services more efficiently. What is appalling to note is that many local governments have tarnished their public image due to a rising level of corruption. The political parties also need to be ready to take action against their respective leaders and cadres if they are found involved in corruption and other illegal activities.  

(The author is a former deputy executive editor of this daily.)