It's too early to make a prediction, but independent candidate Balen Shah's lead in the mayoral race in Kathmandu, even if this is in the initial stage of the vote count, speaks volumes about the voters' changing whims. However, barring a few places where independents are leading in the vote count, the local election held on Friday is a keen contest between candidates of the five-party ruling alliance and the opposition party, the CPN-UML. Altogether 145,011 candidates – representing 65 parties or as independents – had contested the election for 35,211 positions up for grabs in the 753 local level units. They included mayoral and deputy mayoral posts in the municipalities, chairs and vice chairs in rural municipalities and office bearers in 6,743 wards. Until now, ethnicity played a dominant role in ensuring a candidate's victory in the local election, but that could be changing should Balen win the mayoral race in Kathmandu, the bastion of the culturally-alert Newar community.

In the second local election held after the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015, the number of eligible voters had gone up to 17,733,723, but voter turnout was a dismal 64 per cent, down from the 72.5 per cent seen in the previous local polls held in 2017.

There could have been a number of factors behind this, namely, the large number of youths who are abroad for work or study. Plus hundreds of thousands of personnel serving in the security forces as well as the temporary police force also did not vote. However, could the large number of absenteeism have been because the voters saw the candidates - independents or fielded by the parties - as being incompetent to run the local government? A joke in circulation has it that the candidates standing up for election were similar to a MCQ (multiple-choice question), with 'none of the above' being the right answer.

If the past five years are any guide, the way the local governments were run leaves much to be desired, including in Kathmandu. The high level of corruption seen in the local bodies, especially the non-transparency seen while doling out construction contracts, and wastage of resources on pointless projects such as the construction of view towers and fancy municipal buildings across the municipalities seem to have kept many voters at bay. The local people tend to keep a close tab of their representatives in the local government, and word about their shortcomings, lifestyle and deceit spreads fast in the community.

Once the outcome of the local elections is known, the parties would do well to do a retrospection of their strategies and prepare well for the upcoming provincial and federal polls that are due in November.

It is apparent that the people are extremely frustrated by the ways of the parties and their representatives, and will not be swayed by rosy promises at the time of the election that are never fulfilled. One must bear in mind that the updated voter list has some 3.5 million youths who are voting for the first time – youngsters who want to see development at breakneck speed, which the old generation candidates are unable to deliver. And Balen's popularity among the youths has shown that money might not be a determinant in elections any more.

Rising fuel prices

The state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) on Saturday raised prices of petroleum products, claiming that the sole fuel importer had been bearing heavy losses. As per the new price list, a litre of petrol will now cost Rs 170, while diesel and kerosene will cost Rs 153 a litre each. Prices of LPG and aviation fuel have remained unchanged. Nepal and other South Asian countries are bearing the brunt of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which has disrupted the supply chain of petroleum products.

Nepal spends around 56 per cent of its foreign currency earnings simply to import fossil fuels and, which has created adverse impact on its fragile economy.

Despite the increase in fuel prices in the domestic market, NOC has claimed it still faces losses of Rs 14.36 per litre on petrol and Rs 31.44 per litre on diesel, while it makes a profit of Rs 12.64 per litre each on kerosene and domestic aviation fuel and Rs 64.69 a litre on international aviation fuel. Should NOC continue to increase fuel prices, low- and middle-income consumers will not be able to purchase them.

So the government needs to adjust the fuel prices by lowering taxes levied on the petroleum products until the situation improves for the better.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 16, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.