People power

Published On: September 19, 2017 08:22 PM NPT


If the revised figures coming out of the Election Commission are correct, there have been 77 percent voting in the third phase of local election in Province 2. If this is correct, it will be the highest voter turnout among all seven provinces. According to revised figures, among the eight districts in Province 2, the turnout was a high of 80.2 percent in Rautahat district and a low of 73.3 in Mahottari district. Such an incredible voter turnout in Province 2 is indicative of a few things. First, since the local elections were being held under the new constitution, the high voter turnout in Province 2, the heart of the Madhes movement, has to be seen as a kind of endorsement of the new statute. Voters in the province seem to be saying that while the constitution may not be flawless, it also goes a long way towards empowering the traditionally marginalized communities. This is perhaps why there was such massive turnout of women in all eight districts; women seemed to easily outnumber men at most polling stations. Greater representation of women in local decision-making bodies has clearly struck a chord with Madhesi women. Perhaps the same was the case with Madhesi Dalits. 

Second, the high voter turnout in Province 2 is also a strong indication that a great many people were frustrated with repeated delays in local elections and they could not wait to get out and vote. This, again, augurs well for the remaining, two-phase provincial and federal elections scheduled for November 26 and December 7. The message from Province 2 is not that the constitution is perfect or that the locals have no issues with Kathmandu; the broader message is rather that the answer to all outstanding issues, both local ones as well as larger constitutional ones, must be found through the ballot box. It is only right that the sovereign people are made the ultimate arbiters of their own fate. Since so much confusion was created by competing political parties on what the people really wanted, it had become impossible to gauge the real public sentiment. In this situation, there was no option to timely elections. The third message from Province 2 election is that people there shun any kind of extremism and firmly hitch their future with the mainstream political parties contesting these elections. 

Some spin doctors, including members of the intelligentsia, will no doubt try to discredit the completion of local elections for their vested interest, arguing that the local elections solve none of the pressing issues of Tarai-Madhes. Yet they will find it extremely difficult to discredit an election with a 77 percent turnout. If people really believed that none of the political parties in the fray were serious about addressing their issues, they would have refrained from voting, as some had been urging them to. But through their overwhelming turnout, they have once again expressed their abiding faith in the electoral process. We would like to extend our hearty congratulations to all those who voted on Monday and thus gave Nepali democracy a new lease of life. 
 

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