Nepal is a federal democratic republic state where election is one of the tangible components of democracy in Nepal. As a democratic state, Nepal believes in the “power of the people” where it is way of governing which depends on the will of the people. In a democratic state, election is the foundation of democracy. An election is a formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position.
Nowadays the word election is quite common than when election first was conducted in Nepal in May 1991. But now election is so common it happens for everything these days where even for small representative we conduct election as in for class representative/class monitor. Election promotes the choice we have as a citizen. Currently, there are 3 types of election in Nepal which are federal parliament, provincial assemblies and local level government. The recent election was held for local level which was held in May 13 2022. Now, the upcoming election which is going to be held in November 20 2022 is to elect the 275 members of the House of representative. There will be two ballots in the election; one to elect 165 members from single-member constituencies via FPTP, and the other to elect the remaining 110 members from a single nation-wide constituency via party-list proportional representation. The election will be held alongside provincial election for the seven provincial assemblies. The period of the elected people’s stay is 5 years.
The opportunity and the democratic right ensured to the people for electing representatives as per their choice at different times is called periodical election. Elections are required to be fair, independent and impartial so that they help in making ways to resolutions of national problems. Election is one of the beauties of democracy that supports our country for the further development. The selected candidates for the national assembly go under the selection of the upcoming new president and Prime Minister of our country which holds the base of our country. Elections are identical to festivals as people are entitled to a democratic right that allows them to choose the candidates of their preference and also the best times for our nation to have a step forward towards development and citizens have the most vital role during this specific period.
There are multiple roles played during the elections which can be categorized as ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ elections. Before the elections, a lot of activities come into play ranging from candidates’ nomination, election campaign, abiding by the electoral codes of conduct. One of the most important things, a responsibly conscious citizen needs to adhere to is they have to register their Voter’s ID card which contains their information and registration ID. Voter’s ID card is registered by the citizen who has just reached a legal age of voting. Responsible citizens are also required to make other ignorant citizens around them aware of the importance of election and voting right. Teaching and learning the voting process, voting system, and technique of casting vote is extremely crucial. People should be taught not to fall under the trap of greed, threat and temptation as there are likely to be some wrong people in and around election time who might possibly use some wrong means to allure voters in their favor.
On the day of election, first thing to remember is carrying your voter’s ID card and remind other people to do the same. At the place of the voting poll, the basic etiquette is to stand in a queue to cast the vote and without any nepotism and favoritism, vote the most suitable candidate. After your vote, you can help the elderlies and handicapped people. And maintaining the peace in the polling station is indispensable
After the Election Day, the only thing we can do is wait for the result patiently and congratulate the winners with the hope of them making our country better. These are the things we can do during the whole election process. Choosing a candidate for vote is only your decision but the impact of them winning, reaches out to every single life of the citizens. So, we need to be very careful while voting because the development of a nation lies in the hands of citizens.
As we, the students, the minors, constitutionally are not eligible to cast our vote, however, it doesn’t mean we should stay passive unconcerned as if we have no roles in election. As the matter of fact, we do. We must provide correct information to others and help the election commission to update the electoral roll. We should also encourage people to cast vote. We need to teach people the proper way of stamping on the ballot paper. Helping to maintain peaceful environment in polling station can also be another role of students. We students should be conscious about the political issues happening in our country as we are the pillars of the building called “Nepal”.
Jeya Bariya Emonika Rai