Deuba’s resignation from PMO welcomes the Communist-led new Nepali Government with Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli as the next Prime Minister.

Deuba served in PM office for eight months post the country’s transformation from a Hindu monarchy to the federal republic.

The main target of the Deuba-led Nepali Government was to complete the three phases of the country’s most-awaited landmark elections needed for the implementation of new Nepali Constitution.

“My main responsibility was to hold the three phases of elections for the implementation of the new constitution. My responsibility has been fulfilled, so I have decided to resign,” Deuba said in a statement.

All Set for New Government

The most-awaited Nepal General Elections 2017, parliamentary and provincial polls, saw the grand victory of Communist alliance of CPN-UML and CPN-MC over the ruling Nepali Congress.

After registering a grand victory, the communist alliance parties have been in discussions over the announcement of the PM candidate.

Though two names Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal came into the picture, Oli has been finally confirmed as the next Nepal PM.

After having served a similar position from October 11, 2015 to August 3, 2016 Oli is coming back again as the 41^st PM of Nepal.

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However, the communist parties’ cabinet seat-sharing has been a matter of discussion since the time results were announced.

As per the latest update, the two parties are most likely to go on for a 60:40 ratio in seat sharing (the same ratio implemented for fielding candidates) if their discussions do not materialize before the formation of the new Nepali Government.

UML is reportedly keen on offering 30 percent cabinet seats to its ally MC based on the number of seats the party won in the recently-concluded polls.

According to Senior MC party leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the announcement of Proportional Representation (PR) seats will give a needed boost to the process of new government formation.

“Otherwise, there is no alternative but to reach a deal with the Nepali Congress (on the ordinance forwarded for National Assembly election),” Narayan added.

It will take at least two weeks to form the new government even after allotment of PR seats, says UML leader Rinal.

The discussions over announcement of Khadga Prasad Oli as the next Nepali PM was also halted due to row over the formation of new National Assembly.

“The meeting of the party unification coordination committee will begin as soon as Dahal returns from Chitwan, may be on Tuesday evening or Wednesday,” informed UML Secretary Pradeep Gyawali.

This update gains significance in view of UML’s recent announcement over formation of new Nepali Government most likely by the end of December 2017.

Provincial Council Results

Meanwhile, Nepal Election Commission (EC) has made another major announcement regarding Nepal’s landmark parliamentary and provincial polls.

EC, on December 22, 2017, announced the results of country’s Provincial Council (PC) elections under the Proportional Representation (PR) system.

The seats allocation under PC saw CPN-UML leading with 75 seats followed by Nepali ruling Congress with 72 seats.

While CPN-MC won 35 seats, Federal Democratic Forum (FDF) bagged 13 seats followed by Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-Nepal) that got 12 seats.

Parliamentary PR Results in Two Days

The results of the parliamentary polls under PR system are likely to be announced very soon.

According to the EC Spokesperson Navaraj Dhakal, the PR unit functioning under EC will finish the Parliamentary PR seat allocation in the next two days. “We will unveil the result of Parliamentary PR elections as soon as possible,” informed Dhakal.

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The FPTP election vote count for 165 House of Representatives (HoR) and 330 Provincial Assembly (PA) seats declared the victory of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) in the recent polls.

With 80 HoR seats & 167 PA seats by UML and 36 HoR & 74 PA seats by its poll partner CPN (Maoist Centre), the left alliance finally emerged as the single largest party as per the FPTP results.

With this, the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) could find its presence only in 23 HoR and 41 PA constituencies, followed by Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-Nepal) that received 11 HoR and 16 PA seats.

While the independents proved their presence in 1 HoR constituency and 3 PA constituencies, 6 women candidates made it to HoR.

According to EC, the vote counting of both HoR and National Assembly has come to final stages with 164 parliamentary and 329 provincial representatives elected so far in the polls held for 165 parliamentary and 330 provincial seats.

PR Counting Underway

Overall, the left alliance won 116 of 165 FPTP seats for HoR and was leading the Proportional Representation (PR) count, held for 60 districts, for 110 seats.

Out of the 7,684,328 PR votes counted so far, “CPN-UML has so far secured 2,631,991 votes followed by NC (2,546,069), CPN-MC (1,045,446), Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (351,525) and the RJP-Nepal (295,448),” informed Nepal Election Commission (EC) Spokesperson Nawaraj Dhakal.

The PR vote counting is currently underway in around 17 districts and the final PR result is expected by December 15, 2017 evening.

Once the parties submit their HoR winners under PR category, EC will take the process ahead to President for further approval before making the list public.

Decline in Women Representatives

The number of directly-elected women to the HoR seats under the FPTP category has decreased this time as only 6 women candidates made it to HoR.

This number indicates a gradual decline in women representatives in Nepali elections over a period.

While the first Constituent Assembly (CA) elections in 2008 saw 30 women representatives, the number declined to 10 in 2013 CA elections, and now it has come down to 6.

This situation lies in contrast to the constitutional rules that recommend 33 percent women representatives in the House.

This time, only three parties including CPN-UML, CPN-MC and Rastriya Janamorcha the winning female candidates.

While UML had only 3 female winners in a total of 80 FPTP seats, CPN-MC also saw a similar number among its 36 total FPTP winners.

Meanwhile, the ruling NC party saw the failure of its 9 female candidates fielded for HoR seats.

Brainstorming Begins

With the results announced, now the winner leftist alliance is brainstorming on the formation of the new Nepali government with key discussions on power-sharing, among others.

According to the senior left leaders, KP Oli, UML Chairman and the next PM of Nepal (likely), and the MC Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also called Prachanda, are likely to hold discussions during December 14-15, 2017 over the formation of new government at the Center.

While some experts feel the formation of central government will be possible only after Assembly results, UML feels that the Assembly (Upper House) election will not be an issue and aims at the formation by the end of December 2017.

Following the formation, the President will call for the first Federal Parliament session under the new government, within 30 days of the declaration of final results of HoR as recommended by the Nepali Constitution.

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While 157 of the total 165 House of Representatives seats were announced so far under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election, the leftist alliance alone garnered a total of 106 seats.

Of this, the Communist Parties of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) won the highest number of 74 seats followed by CPN-Maoist Centre (MC) that won 32 seats, informed the Election Commission on December 11, 2017.

With the left alliance moving towards forming majority in the Nepali Parliament, the Communist Alliance is projecting the erstwhile Prime Minister and the communist party leader Khadga Prasad Oli as its Prime Minister candidate.

Oli won from the Jhapa-5 constituency with more than 28,000 votes against the Nepali Congress candidate Khagendra Adhikari. Oli bagged 57,139 votes in total, the highest number of votes secured by any contestant in this election.

CPN Chairman Pushpa Kumar Dahal, another name in PM’s race, got elected to the Federal Parliament from the Chitwan-3 constituency for his win against the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) candidate Bikram Pandey with 48, 276 votes.

Meanwhile, the current Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba registered victory in the Dadeldhura-1 constituency against Khaga Raj Bhatta of CPN with 28, 044 votes.

Rajendra Mahato from Dhanusa-3 constituency with 30, 742 votes, Upendra Yadav from Saptari-2 constituency with 21,620 votes, Gagan Thapa from Kathmandu-4 constituency with 21, 558 votes were among others who got elected to the Nepali Federal Parliament.

With Communist alliance leading the race, experts feel Oli could be the next Prime Minister of Nepal.

“We can expect Oli to lead a stable government with the Maoists as strong allies. Once there is a political stability, he can implement a development agenda and attract foreign investment,” opines Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional expert.

Meanwhile, in Proportional Representation (PR) category, UML stands leading with 936,442 votes, followed by Nepali Congress (NC) in the second position with 878,824 votes and CPN-MC in the third position with 385,434 votes.

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The two-phase Nepal’s parliamentary and provincial elections 2017 was a three-way fight among the democratic alliance led by the ruling Nepali Congress party, the Madhes-based parties’ alliance called Rastriya Janata Party and the leftist alliance of CPN-UML and Maoist Center parties.

The counting results of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election of the Provincial Assemblies and House of Representatives of 16 districts, released on December 10, 2017, have shown victory for the communist alliance in 70 federal and 134 provincial constituencies with leading positions across 11 other federal and 20 provincial constituencies, so far.

Whereas, the ruling Nepali Congress has so far won 15 federal constituencies continuing the lead in another seven constituencies.

Meanwhile, the Madhes-based alliance registered 11 seats under the FPTP system.

According to the Election Commission, the FPTP electoral process saw election of 98 out of the total 1944 contestants.

74 of 165 parliamentary constituencies and 161 of 333 assembly constituencies have been covered with the FPTP results on December 10, 2017, informed EC.

New Laws for First Assembly Session

Meanwhile, EC has called for framing of new laws for the formation of the National Assembly.

“We are not able to begin the process of electing National Assembly members without laws governing elections of NA members. We want new laws to be framed as soon as possible,” EC Spokesperson Navaraj Dhakal said on December 10, 2017.

Article 93 of the Nepali Constitution requires the first meeting of the Parliament and the National Assembly within 30 days of the announcement of parliamentary poll results.

Meanwhile, Bheshraj Adhikari, Personal Secretary of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari informed that “The National Assembly Election Ordinance is being considered by the President. She will take a call on this as soon as possible.”

The National Assembly Members Election Bill is currently under scrutiny following a difference between the ruling Nepali Congress and the communist parties of CPN-UML and Maoist Centre on the contents of the bill.

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Post the completion of first phase polls with 65 percent voter turnout on November 26, 2017, Nepal went on for the final phase of its most-awaited parliamentary and provincial polls across 15,344 polling centers in 45 districts.

A total of 4,482 candidates including 1,663 candidates for 128 parliamentary seats and 2,819 for 256 provincial assembly seats contested in the final phase that has involved around 12.1 million eligible voters, nearly 80% of the Nepali population.

This is the first election conducted for Nepali Parliament and Provincial Assembly after the new constitution was promulgated in 2015.

Public Response

All sections of Nepali society eagerly participated in Nepal’s 2017 provincial and parliamentary elections.

“I am voting after many years because there is new hope in the country with the establishment of provinces,” said Iswor Prasad Shrestha (70), a Nepali businessman.

Kedar Sharan Raya, a retired senior lawyer, said, “I am here to vote today because it is the first election for provinces with the hope these provincial governments will be able to deliver development.”

Election observers from foreign countries did not report any discrepancies in the electoral process.

It’s Counting Time!

The Election Commission (EC) of Nepal has promised to complete the vote counting process within two weeks from the day of election conclusion.

“Counting of votes of both parliamentary and provincial FPTP elections and both parliamentary and provincial Proportional Representation (PR) elections can begin together. We are confident that the counting could be completed, if there is no obstacle or setback within the set deadline,” says the Election Commissioner Ishwori Prasad Poudel.

 “Vote counting should be done at the earliest. Therefore, we have issued orders from center to all the vote counting centers,” reads a statement by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ayodhee Prasad Yadav, who said the First-Past-The-Post (FTFP) voting will be out in a week from the date of completion of election.

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A total of 4,482 candidates are competing in this phase that is being held at 15,344 polling centers across 45 districts of the country.

The first phase, held on November 26, 2017, was held across 32 districts.

While the first round saw around 65 percent voter participation, the Nepal Election Commission (EC) expects the second phase polls to register more than 70 percent turnout with over 12.2 million voters exercising their vote.

The completion of this First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election will result in formation of Federal Parliament at the Center and Provincial Assemblies across seven provinces of the country as planned in the new constitution in 2015.

The counting process will also begin the same day in the evening.

A Worth-waiting Election

The world governments, especially the bordering nations, are eagerly watching this landmark election of Nepal.

“I think the party I feel like voting [for] is popular because it strongly claims Nepal as a nation that is capable of bringing those golden days of Nepal back, where Nepal stood economically, socially and politically strong without aid dependency,” says Lawyer Jyoti Singh Bhandari.

“The Election Commission calls on all eligible voters to take part in the elections to convey a strong message to those who are against the implementation of the constitution as well as political stability in the country,” reads a statement by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ayodhee Prasad Yadav.

While Nepal has saw a governmental transition 26 times in the past 28 years, many hope this election would end long-standing political turmoil and open ways for new Nepali constitution, while also bringing in needed development across the country.

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Here are the some of the key updates in the wake of final round of elections:

Silence Period Underway

In the wake of legislative elections for electing House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies, The Election Commission (EC) of Nepal announced the silence period during December 4-7, 2017.

Campaigning, poll surveys, airing of any material in favor or against any political party, among other election-related activities have been banned as part of the election code of conduct during the silence period.

However, publishing and distribution of voter education materials, information or any related message, among others by EC are out of restriction.

Borders Sealed for 72 hours

As part of security measures for Nepal general election 2017, the country’s local administration has closed public movement across 22 border points.

The Government of Nepal sealed borders for 72 hours starting from December 05, 2017.

While a large number of people were stranded at the Kakadbhitta border point, DSP Tanka Bhattarai of the Area Police Office, Kakadbhitta, says, “Those carrying Nepali citizenship and identity cards are only allowed to enter Nepal. The border is open for those traveling to India.”

“Besides the closure of our customs office, we’ve also stepped up security ahead of the polls,” says Binod Prakash Singh, Chief District Officer of Parsa.

Bhadrapur in Nepal’s eastern border with Bihar state and a 500-km long Indo-Nepal border connecting Uttar Pradesh are among those closed.

The closed borders will be reopened from the midnight of December 07, 2017.

Special Transportation for Voters

To ease the voting process, political parties have booked 80 percent public vehicles to transport voters from Kathmandu to their home districts, informed the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs.

The political parties have already made reservations in this regard, informed Dolanath Khanal, FNNTE President.

Condemning the parties’ move, “Taking voters to their home districts with an aim to influence their vote is gross violation of the election code of conduct,” says Navaraj Dhakal, EC Spokesperson.

Rise in Fuel Import Prices

Nepal’s fuel import bill during the October-November of 2017 has gone up 40 percent in the light of general elections thus impacting the election campaigning activities involving vehicular movement.

According to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the fuel import bill touched Rs 7.44 billion and Rs 8.30 billion in August and September, respectively, which increased to Rs 10.17 billion by October and further to Rs 13.18 billion in November.

The import bills of petrol, cooking gas, diesel and aviation fuel have gone up during the period.

While diesel import has increased from 100,447 kiloliters during August-September period to 141,054 kiloliters by mid October-November period, petrol imports saw a 20 percent rise in the last two months and stood at 42,000 kiloliters.

Human Rights Alerts

In the wake of recent blasts that targeted few political party members and poll contestants, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) urged the government to tighten poll security.

In this regard, NHRC has also deployed its special team to take stock of the victims affected in recent blasts.

Meanwhile, the renowned international human rights body Amnesty International (AI) also urged the Nepali Government to ensure safety and security of public and human rights.

“AI Nepal notes with concern the recent attacks targeting political leaders and campaigners with explosive devices that have resulted in numerous injuries and one death in Dang,” AI Nepal said in a statement.

Nirajan Thapaliya, Director of Amnesty International Nepal, said, “There should be an independent and effective investigation into incidents of violence, and the suspected perpetrators should be held accountable through fair trials.”

Special Observation Teams, Security High on Agenda

EC has allowed a total of 45,000 members to monitor the observe and monitor the final phase of election.

This includes 52 domestic observing institutions and four international observer groups.

Besides, the Nepal Election Observation Committee (NEOC) is deploying more than 2,000 observers to monitor the elections across 45 districts.

“Considering the ongoing explosions, we are focusing more on election security. We have a team of experts on security. We are not only paying attention to the election day but also to the days before and after the elections,” says Kapil Shrestha, Vice-Chairperson, NEOC.

Shrestha further informed that a special focus will also be laid on other issues such as booth captures and multiple voting that impact free and fair elections.

Election Observation Committee Nepal (EOCN) and Democracy Resource Centre (DRC) are among other government bodies that are tracking security situation, political environment, electoral process and voter awareness, among other aspects.

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