Asia

Nepalese get 1st chance in 20 years to vote for local bodies

Associated Press
Published | Updated

In this May 11, 2017 photo, candidates of Nepali Congress party march during an election campaign event in Kathmandu, Nepal. Much has changed since Nepal last held local elections 20 years ago _ the Himalayan country's 240-year monarchy was abolished, federal democracy was introduced and political wrangling took center stage. Earthquakes ravaged the country. A Maoist insurgency left thousands dead. And widespread poverty ensured daily life for many remained a struggle if not a misery. Through it all, Nepal's 29 million citizens have had only government-appointed bureaucrats to look to for answers or help with settling local disputes. Many voters said they were excited for the chance this weekend to choose local representatives for the first time since 1997.(AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (The Associated Press)

In this May 11, 2017 photo, a Nepalese man checks his phone next to an election campaign poster of Nepal Unified Marxist Leninist, CPN-UML party in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Much has changed since Nepal last held local elections 20 years ago _ the Himalayan country's 240-year monarchy was abolished, federal democracy was introduced and political wrangling took center stage. Earthquakes ravaged the country. A Maoist insurgency left thousands dead. And widespread poverty ensured daily life for many remained a struggle if not a misery. Through it all, Nepal's 29 million citizens have had only government-appointed bureaucrats to look to for answers or help with settling local disputes. Many voters said they were excited for the chance this weekend to choose local representatives for the first time since 1997. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (The Associated Press)

In this May 10, 2017 photo, Kathmandu's mayoral candidate Ranju Darshana, from Bibeksheel Nepali party, gives a speech during a campaign event in Kathmandu. Much has changed since Nepal last held local elections 20 years ago _ the Himalayan country's 240-year monarchy was abolished, federal democracy was introduced and political wrangling took center stage. Earthquakes ravaged the country. A Maoist insurgency left thousands dead. And widespread poverty ensured daily life for many remained a struggle if not a misery. Through it all, Nepal's 29 million citizens have had only government-appointed bureaucrats to look to for answers or help with settling local disputes. Many voters said they were excited for the chance this weekend to choose local representatives for the first time since 1997.(AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (The Associated Press)

Nepalese will get their first chance in two decades to vote in local representatives on city and village councils in elections analysts say offer a signal that the Himalayan nation's fractious democracy may be stabilizing.

Since the last local polls were held in 1997, Nepal's 240-year monarchy was abolished, federal democracy introduced and a Maoist insurgency left thousands dead.

A quarter of the 29 million people live in poverty and less than 4 percent of houses destroyed in the 2015 earthquake have been rebuilt. Through it all, Nepalese have had only government-appointed bureaucrats because of a political deadlock that had delayed passage of a new constitution, which was adopted only two years ago.