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.
Nepal will hold the first of two rounds of voting 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.
Candidates were going door to door to greet villagers with promises of building roads and schools, improving water sanitation facilities, providing electricity or even metro systems.
The second round of voting, scheduled for June 14, could see protests among ethnic groups unhappy with district boundaries in southern areas of the country
This video describes the process to cast your vote in the upcoming Nepal Local elections 2017.
Video prepared by Election Commission of Nepal with support of IFES
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