Nawalpur, December 6

Ratna Maya Biswokarma of Devchuli, Navalpur, was an active member of the CPN-UML until recently. But just ahead of the provincial and parliamentary elections, she joined the Nepali Congress along with her husband.

During an event held to welcome new entrants to the party at Devchuli, it was announced that Ratna Maya had entered the NC along with her husband, which suggested that she had convinced her husband to join the NC and that she was more politically active than him.

Ratna Maya is not the lone politically active female in the district, which has 118,351 female voters compared to 103,364 male voters in the second phase of parliamentary and provincial elections slated to be held tomorrow in 45 districts.

But the irony is there are no female candidates under the first-past-the-post electoral system from major political parties in two constituencies of the newly-formed district, which has officially been named East Bardaghat Susta Nawalparasi district.

“There are no female FPTP candidates for both provincial and parliamentary elections from major parties in the district which has more female voters than male,” CDO  Shambhu Prasad Marasini told The Himalayan Times at his office in Kawaswoti.

Nepali Congress General Secretary Shashank Koirala, who is contesting the parliamentary election from Nawalpur-1, acknowledged the fact that there are no female FPTP candidates from major parties. “This trend should be changed to bring women in leadership positions,” he told THT.

According to the law, there must be 33 percent women representation in both federal and provincial assemblies. But in the recently-held local elections, women representation stood at around 45 per cent, according to woman leader Uma Regmi.

“This is because we have one of the best constitutions in the world in terms of inclusion and rights,” she said, adding even if there is less women FPTP candidates, the Parliament and provincial assemblies will eventually have 33 per cent women representation because of the law.

Out of the 1,663 candidates for 128 FPTP parliamentary seats in the second phase polls, there are just 130 women candidates. As far as provincial assembly election is concerned, there are 220 women candidates out of 2,819 candidates for 256 seats, according to the Election Commission.

Nawalpur has 258 polling centres in four municipalities and as many rural municipalities. Around 2,000 security personnel and 2,060 civil servants have been deployed in the district, said CDO Marasini. The district has a total population of 296,933.