Nepal extends voter registration ahead of key polls

KATHMANDU,

Nepal announced on Saturday a five-day extension in voter registration for the first elections since anti-corruption protests toppled the government earlier this year, citing strong turnout.

“There has been enthusiastic participation. We have extended the deadline to ensure no eligible voter is left out,” Election Commission spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai told AFP.

Would-be voters in the elections, set for March, now have until Friday to register.

The vote follows deadly protests in September, initially triggered by anger over a brief social media ban and spearheaded by young people under the broad “Gen Z” umbrella. The uprising was also fuelled by deeper frustration over economic hardship and corruption.

Bhattarai said that more than 300,000 new voters have registered since the campaign began on 25 September. Young voters have been lining up at registration booths over the past few weeks, and the Election Commission has also opened online registration.

In Nepal’s last general elections in 2022, nearly 18 million people were registered to vote.

The country’s interim Prime Minister, Sushila Karki, said on Friday she was coordinating with election officials to ensure “all citizens can easily exercise their democratic rights”.

Karki, a former chief justice, was appointed to steer the Himalayan nation in an interim capacity following two days of violent unrest in September that killed at least 76 people and saw parliament, courts, and government buildings set ablaze. The unrest resulted in the collapse of the previous government.

Nepal’s political landscape remains volatile, with widespread mistrust of long-dominant parties complicating efforts to ensure credible polls.