MUNICIPAL ELECTION PRIMER

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000247 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS NP SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL ELECTION PRIMER REF: KATHMANDU 228 Classified By: DCM Elisabeth I. Millard. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Fourteen percent of the total number of voters in Nepal live in the 58 municipalities. Voters must be at least 18 and candidates must be at least 21. In the 58 municipalities where February 8 elections are scheduled for over 4,000 seats, depending on population, there are between nine and 35 wards, making a total of 806 wards up for election. The tenure of the elected and nominated members of any municipality is five years. The last local body election was held in 1997. The latest date to file for candidacy in the forthcoming municipal election is January 26. End summary. MUNICIPALITIES - PROVIDING SERVICES TO CITIZENS -------------- -- ¶2. (U) Each of Nepal's 58 municipalities is an autonomous local body, which carries out development activities with the help of elected and nominated members of ward committees. Municipalities are divided into wards. There are a total of 806 wards in the municipalities, with each municipality having between nine and thirty-five wards, depending on population. The municipality and its ward committees carry out local activities such as building and maintaining roads, establishing libraries, cleaning old ponds and wells, repairing water taps, renovating temples and monasteries, carrying out tree plantings, launching vaccination programs, and awarding birth certificates. In addition, most foreign donor agencies work through local bodies to implement development projects. Municipalities work closely with District Administration Offices and the Ministry of Local Development in order to conduct development activities in an efficient manner and to access government funding. MUNICIPAL LEADERSHIP -------------- ¶3. (U) Each municipality is headed by a Town Council consisting of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ward Chairmen from each ward, and six to 35 other council members. The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Ward Chairmen nominate the remaining council members from among social activists and "backward" communities (ethnic groups, dalits and indigenous groups). The tenure of the elected and nominated members of the municipality is five years. A total of 4,416 offices are open for election on February 8, including Mayors, Deputy Mayors, and Ward Chairmen. The last municipal election was held in 1997. CANDIDATES -------------- ¶4. (U) Those who are 21 years of age and above may contest the municipal election. Candidates should be Nepali citizens, have no pending bills or loans owed to the municipality, and not have been involved in criminal activities. January 26 is the deadline to register as a candidate in the February 8 election. ELIGIBLE VOTERS -------------- ¶5. (U) Those men and women who are residents of the municipality, are at least 18 years of age, and have a valid voter's identity card are eligible to vote in the municipal election. Within the 58 municipalities, the number of eligible voters is 1,942,990, including 966,189 women. This is approximately 14 percent of the total voters in Nepal. VOTER'S IDENTITY CARDS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Each voter should have a voter's identity card in order to vote. However, the Election Commission (EC) told EmbOff that, although the voters' list has been updated, the EC had not been able to issue voter's identity cards to all voters. Therefore, voters may use any kind of identity card, such as a student identity card or driver's license. INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The EC stated that it had been unable to make arrangements to address internally displaced persons (IDPs). Currently, the only way for IDPs to participate in the election is to return to their municipality to cast their vote to elect their representatives. (Note: There are over 100,000 IDPs in Nepal. Most of those are from the countryside, and would therefore not be eligible to vote in these elections. The government has told us it planned to address IDPs in the national elections. End note.) POLLING STATIONS -------------- ¶8. (U) Polling stations are based in school buildings, city halls, and other public buildings, and civil police provide security. The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) will be in charge of the overall security for the election. Altogether 1,394 election centers have been set up for the municipal election. SMALLER POLITICAL PARTIES IN POLL FRAY -------------- ¶9. (U) The EC has recognized 72 political parties, which have applied for the municipal elections to be held on February 8. Of the 72 parties, 52 parties have not previously taken part in elections. All the major political parties announced that they would boycott the polls. Although some fringe parties had stated that they would take part in the election, many have recently publicly said they were in a dilemma because of the fragile peace and security situation in the country. However, parties will need to declare whether they will participate in the elections by January 26, when candidate nominations are due. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) Municipal activities directly impact day-to-day problems and issues. Elected municipal leaders can independently address those local problems. Thus the municipal election is important for the implementation of local development activities and for local governance. However, there are many security concerns swirling about these elections. The Maoists have already assassinated one candidate for Mayor and a local Maoist claimed that action was taken "per party policy." People will be hard-pressed to choose whether to brave the security risks to elect their representatives. MORIARTY