Nepal to Hold National Election Amidst Corruption and Economic Concerns

Kathmandu: Nepal will ​hold a national election next month, its first since deadly youth-led anti-graft protests toppled the government of then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in September. ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. Experience a more refined e-paper today READ TODAY'S EPAPER ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT As the Himalayan nation prepares ⁠for the March 5 polls, here is a look at the key contenders, ⁠and what is at stake. The voters Nearly 19 million ‌of Nepal's 30 million ​people are eligible to vote in the March 5 election for the 275-member assembly. About one million of the voters - most of them youth - were added after last year's protests, which killed 77 people and injured more than ​2,000. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links Stories You May Like Hair oil to underwear: BSNL calls off director's trip to Prayagraj after order of 'sn... Karnataka job crisis: Welfare guarantees, fiscal strain slow govt recruitments B Y Vijayendra attacks Congr ess over unfilled govt vacanci es in Karnataka While direct contests will ⁠decide 165 seats, which means the person who gets the most votes will win, the rest will be filled through proportional representation, where seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their vote ⁠share. Election authorities say ‌65 political parties are in the fray. Also Read:Nepal poll results to be out within 24 hours of ballot collection: Acting CEC Also Read:Nepal poll results to be out within 24 hours of ballot collection: Acting CEC Issues at stake Apart from corruption, job creation is among the main issues, analysts ‌say, with about a fifth of the population living in poverty, and high youth ⁠unemployment. Ties with India and China , which border Nepal and are among its major trade partners, will also ‌be a factor in the election as the landlocked ‌nation negotiates a balance between the Asian powers. While India accounts for ‌two-thirds of Nepal's international trade, China accounts for 14% and ‌has also lent the country - among the world's poorest - more than $130 million, according to the World Bank. Key Contenders Rapper-turned-politician and former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, 35, of the centrist ⁠Rastriya Swatantra Party ⁠is among the frontrunners for prime minister. Facing him in the Jhapa 5 constituency is four-time prime minister Oli, 74, of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), vying for the top post again but facing an uphill battle to win back young voters who ousted him barely six months ago. Other contenders include the centrist Nepali Congress party's 49-year-old Gagan ​Thapa and three-time prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, 71, who now ​leads the Nepali Communist ​Party. Oli has been a liberal communist since the 1990s while Dahal led a bloody Maoist insurgency ​for a decade before joining mainstream politics in 2006. ADVERTISEMENT Published 26 February 2026, 12:44 IST World news Nepal Follow us on : Follow Us Read More