KATHMANDU, MAY 13

Seventy-seven-year-old Rudra Bahadur Khadka walked slowly, letting his wife, who was using an umbrella for a cane, catch up to him. Khadka teased her, who had to stop several times while walking, saying, "Dherai mobile chalaayesi estai hunchha."

(This happens when you spend all your time on your mobile phone).

The couple were returning to their nearby residence after casting their vote at the polling booth in Shambhavi School, Battisputali.

This particular booth had extremely few people in the early morning of May 13. Even so, "already 600 people have cast their votes", reported a police inspector at around 11:00 am. The voting for the local level election started at 7:00 am. Among the voters, the number of youth who turned up to vote was scarce.

At another polling booth at Ratna Rajya Secondary School of Mid- Baneshwore people were already seen standing in line to cast their votes even at 7:15 am. Ninety-threeyear-old Yagya Murti Kandel, who was being assisted by his 18-year-old grandson, was among the first to cast their vote there. Originally from Gulmi, Kandel shared "I hope they (elected representatives) will do their work properly this time."

But as his grandson Yajas had turned 18 recently and was yet to make his voter ID, he did not cast his vote. He, however, expressed his excitement that he would be able to vote in the next elections.

"I had cast vote in the election of 2074 BS (2017) and I was very excited then. But I am not excited this time. They (representatives elected in the last election) did not meet our expectations. So, this time we have voted after analysing an individual, instead of a party," Badri Bahadur Karki, 62, a local resident of Baneshwore said.

On the same premises, two candidates for the position of ward presidents were interacting with different people from the Election Commission. And when asked what they hope for in this election, Ashok Karki, candidate for ward president (Ward-10 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City) representing the Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist, said, "I hope to serve our people with a joyous face."

"Even though we have had our weaknesses, people liked our work, so they asked me to contest the elections again," said Ram Kumar KC, current KMC Ward-10 President. He is contesting the elections once again representing the Nepali Congress.

Visually-impaired people like Raghav Maharjan too made it to the polling booth of Ratna Rajya.

Maharjan, who was being assisted by Hari Gaire, 26, said, "It is all about communication; if we find someone who can understand us, we can take their help to cast a vote."

This is the third time that Maharjan is casting his vote in the local elections and he said, "We should choose a good person. If we do that, the country will definitely develop. I hope someone good wins. I find the independent candidate for mayoral position Balen Sah exciting."

He also added, "This election has been more inclusive for (differently-abled) people like us. However, they did not come to our homes to teach us how to vote. Yet, I feel the situation has improved."

Gaire, who was very happy to assist Maharjan, even though he himself was not voting remarked, "In rural areas it is difficult for differently-abled people to cast their votes properly, but it is easier here."

Meanwhile, first-time voter Anshu Ranabhat, 19, while showing the ink stain on her thumb, shared cheerfully, "The election was getting a lot of publicity, so I considered practising my right as well. I hope they fulfil what they've promised and our votes won't go to waste."

Along with voting for the first time, people were equally excited at being the first person to cast the vote in their respective polling booth. Januka Acharya, 35 was one of them - she was overjoyed to become the first person to cast her vote at the Pathshala School of Thapagaun.

She had reached the booth at 6:00 am for the voting that began at around 7:00 am.

Interestingly, 67-year-old retired officer Govinda Bahadur Karki recalled voting during the Panchayat system in 2037 BS (1980). As he got ready to vote from New Baneshwore this time, he said, "Even though we do believe in parties, we should also consider people who are good while voting. This time, I hope a good candidate wins."

"If we choose the best candidate, we will have a better place to live in and not have to immigrate elsewhere. So, I am here to vote," added 32-year old Puja Thapa, standing to cast her vote carrying her child in a queue of voters at Ratna Rajya.

Another retired officer Rama Dev Joshi meanwhile said, "Voting is our right, we should not neglect it. People have become more aware (to vote) this time because of the type of governance they experienced in the last five years."

Also a former election officer, he recalled conducting the election in the old days. "We conducted an election Naresh Shrestha / THT in 2037 BS (1980) in Rolpa when I was the election officer then. We did not have transportation facility then. We had to walk miles to reach there. People carried the ballot boxes on their backs all the way to the booth. The situation is far better now. Even though it was so difficult, people still knew the value of voting then. They would come from far away villages, taking shelter along the way, just to exercise their right. The situation as well as awareness of voting has improved vastly in recent days."

A version of this article appears in the print on May 14, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.