The Election Commission must not be influenced by the parties into amending its directives
Political parties taking part in the parliamentary and provincial elections on November 20 submitted the closed lists of candidates under the proportional representation (PR) electoral system at the Election Commission (EC) in Kathmandu on Monday.
Although the EC had given two days - Sunday and Monday - to submit the closed lists, barring two, the remaining parties only did so on Monday that too late in the evening. The parties also submitted their closed lists for the provincial assemblies. Beginning Tuesday, the EC said it would go through the closed lists over two days.
The parties are required to prepare the closed list by upholding the principle of inclusion, as per the EC's directives for the PR election system to the HoR. Accordingly, the parties must include a specific number of candidates from each cluster, failing which the parties will be asked to make amendments in them during the week-long period given from September 26 to October 2.
Under the PR electoral system, a total of 110 members will be elected to the House of Representatives and 220 members in the provincial assemblies out of the thousands of names submitted in the closed lists.
Under the mixed election system, 40 per cent of the members of the Lower House and the Provincial Assemblies are elected through the PR system. In the PR election, voters vote for a party, and based on the votes garnered, candidates in the closed list are elected.
Around 51 political parties submitted their closed lists at the EC on Sunday and Monday, although as many as 68 parties are said to have shown interest in contesting the elections.
However, the major parties that will be impacting the elections are the Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist, Maoist Centre, CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajwadi Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party. Each of the major parties have submitted a closed list of the maximum number of 110 names allowed for the federal parliament and 220 seats for the provincial assemblies. Thus, unless one's name ranks among the top one-third in the list, one's chances of making it through the PR electoral system remain slim.
The PR system was introduced to make the federal parliament and provincial assemblies more inclusive through the representation of the marginalised and indigenous communities, women and Dalits, among others, who have little to no chance of winning an election. However, the closed list has included the names of senior leaders of the parties who are not sure of winning the election as well as their spouses and close relatives, which defeats the very purpose of having the PR system. The NC is said to have included the names of influential leaders capable of contesting the elections. The UML has, however, tried to be fair to everyone by not including the names of those who appeared in the closed list in the previous elections and those candidates who lost the local level election. The EC must see to it that the names in the closed list are not changed in the name of amending them. The EC has promised fair elections, and it must not be influenced by the parties into amending its directives to suit their interests.
Autumn expedition
Unlike the previous years, this year's autumn season has witnessed a large number of climbers obtaining climbing permits for as many as 10 mountains, including the eight-thousanders, such as Everest, Dhaulagiri and Manaslu. A total of 472 mountaineers have received climbing permits, raising a total revenue of Rs 54.5 million with a lion's share of Rs 46.2 million from Mt Manaslu alone. The Department of Tourism has said 404 people have received climbing permits for Manaslu, which has attracted a large number of climbers from around the world in recent times, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic that brought the tourism sector to the lowest ebb.
Although autumn is a less popular season for expedition, many climbers, especially from the Gulf countries, have made this season as popular as the spring season. However, going by the climbing permits issued, most of the climbing takes place in the central and eastern Himalayas. In order to share the benefits of tourism and expeditions, the government should also encourage foreign climbers to scale mountains in the far-western part of the Himalayas, which have remained less travelled. Api and Saipal in Darchula, for example, are highly attractive peaks that can be promoted for expeditions during the autumn and spring seasons.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 21, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
