Political parties begin door to door campaign for Nepal's November election

With just a month left to go for the November 19 elections, candidates in Nepal have started door- to-door campaign to seek people's support, parties said on Sunday. A total of 6,000 political party and independent candidates are contesting in the November 19 elections under the first-past-the- post election system. Candidates are canvassing the voters by reaching their homes saying that their victory in the election will ensure a promulgation of a new constitution. Even former prime ministers and top leaders of major parties are knocking at households' doors seeking voter's support. Party leaders are rarely available in Kathmandu as they have reached in their respective constituencies across the country with their election campaign. For ordinary people, election is an opportunity to meet their leaders face to face and express their demands and concerns, as candidates are also participating in social and family gatherings such as wedding ceremonies, Pooja and other occasions to leave a lasting impression to voters. Some candidates also provide gifts to voters to garner their support, while some candidates in remote areas also distribute cash money to lure voters. However, there is not much enthusiasm on November 19 elections. As the first Constituent Assembly (CA) elected in 2008 failed to draft a new constitution, voters are skeptical that a new CA will draft a new constitution. After the CA was dissolved in May last year, Nepal is holding a second round of election for drafting a new constitution. Candidates are convincing the voters that this is the last CA election and constitution will be promulgated within a year at any cost. "Only the UCPN (Maoist) has a vision for drafting a new constitution," said Maoist leader Lila Mani Pokhrel during a door- to-door election campaign on Saturday. In the 2008-2012 period, political parties spent billions of dollars from state coffer and time in the name of drafting a new constitution but only ended up dissolving the CA, which has angered the general people. "I am not optimistic that our leaders will draft a new constitution but I am going to vote to exercise my democratic rights," Ramesh Shrestha, a resident in Kathmandu constituency-4, told Xinhua. People have many complaints and are dissatisfied with the leaders, observers say, citing their failure to draft a new constitution, speed up the development of the country, and generate employment for the youths. CPN-Maoist, the breakaway faction of UCPN (Maoist), is absent in the election process. Lately, CPN-Maoist has said that it would appeal to the people to boycott the election but it would not disturb it.