KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) – Much has changed since Nepal last held local elections 20 years ago – the Himalayan country’s 240-year monarchy was abolished, federal democracy was introduced and political wrangling took center stage. Earthquakes ravaged the country. A Maoist insurgency left thousands dead. And widespread poverty ensured daily life for many remained a struggle if not a misery.
Through it all, Nepal’s 29 million citizens have had only government-appointed bureaucrats to look to for answers or help with settling local disputes. Many voters said they were excited for the chance this weekend to choose local representatives for the first time since 1997.
“We can finally get our true representatives back in our neighborhoods,” said 19-year-old university student Suman Sharma of Kathmandu. “The last time these elections were held, I wasn’t even born.”
Nepal will hold the first of two rounds of voting on Sunday – with nearly 50,000 candidates vying for 13,556 positions on village and city councils covering nearly half the country.
For weeks, campaign posters have lined village roads. Political party flags flapped in the mountain breeze. And more than 40,000 police officers were fanning out to polling stations to keep the peace.