The Coalition of the Prime Minister comes out at the top of the legislative elections, marked by the breakthrough of the independent parties and by the desire to renew a part of the electorate.
by Sophie Landrin (New Delhi, correspondent)
Called to the ballot boxes for the legislative elections, on November 20, the Nepalese sanctioned the old political parties, but not to the point of completely overthrowing the system. The results, announced Wednesday, December 7, give the Coalition of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in mind with 136 of the 275 seats in the House of Representatives. He misses two voices to reach the majority.
At 76, Deuba, who has already been Prime Minister five times, is likely to convince self -employed to join him. It was opposed to another coalition led by the Nepalese Communist Party in the unified Marxist Marxist, the main opposition party, but also to multiple independent candidates.
Even if the Prime Minister is renewed, the elections were marked by an anti-“establishment” vote and by the emergence of a new political training, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) or independent national party. Created barely five months ago by Rabi Lamichhane (48 years old), a former star journalist from Nepalese television News 24, the RSP makes a spectacular entry into Parliament by taking 20 seats, becoming the fourth most important formation of the Chamber representatives.
Rabi Lamichhane led campaign with young candidates under 40 against the corruption of civil servants, for better governance and the creation of jobs. His investigation program “Straight talk with the people”, which denounced in hidden camera corruption within the government, bureaucracy and businesses, made it popular, in particular to young people. He lived several years in the United States, where he worked for the Subway sandwich chain in Baltimore, then obtaining American nationality, which sparked a controversy in Nepal, where dual nationality is not recognized.
closed economy
The newspaper Nepali Times salutes its “remarkable success”. “The electorate, writes the newspaper, sent a clear message by raising the independent RSP to the rank of national party to Parliament with more than a million votes.” The desire for renewal had already manifested itself earlier in the Year in the municipal elections in May, when an independent candidate – a rapper, thirty -something, Balen Shah – had been elected mayor of Kathmandu.
The Nepalese are tired of the aging political elite, the septuagenarians stuck in clientelism, accused of immobility and inability to keep their commitments, while the country faces a major economic crisis. The COVVI-19 pandemic devastated the tourism industry and slows down the transfers of migrants who represent a third of the gross domestic product. Almost half of households receive money from abroad, 5 million Nepalese work, study or live outside. Nepal, one of the poorest countries, remains a closed economy, which suffers from a structural lack of jobs, forcing men to migrate to the Gulf countries and in Malaysia.
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