20 November 2022, 4 Mangsir, 2079( Sunday) Election is approaching very near. Who to vote for, why to vote, which election symbols to choose, which leaders and parties to select, and will this election change our lives or not ? Again selecting from these political parties and candidates in this election, these many questions come to our mind. We have voted many times in parliamentary and local elections in the past. We have elected only a few Parliament members, Ministers, and PMs whom the people can be proud of.

It is natural to be confused about what the party and leaders did earlier and what they will do next after this election. After this election constitution should be amended and passed by the parliament and make new laws that Parliament members, Ministers and PM cannot be elected more than twice in the elections, Then new energetic and visionary youths will also get opportunities.

Why are so many political parties and leaders in this country? Does Nepal mean only the capital Kathmandu? The country and the people should now be free from only the Capital Kathmandu Centric mindset. Infrastructure, education, health, employment, transportation, airports, etc. should also be managed in all the district villages and cities.

After the establishment of democracy in the first general election held in 2048, when a candidate of the party stood up, all the leaders and cadres of that party used support with an open mind to win. Elections needed less money and the financial burden was also low. After this election constitution needs to be amended and passed by the parliament such that MPs, Ministers and PM cannot be elected more than twice in the elections, Then new energetic and visionary youths will also get the opportunity.

As this time election has come to our doorstep again. Again leaders are coming to our yard and door to ask for votes.. Again the same leaders and parties are repeating the same slogans, assurances, speeches, and styles. The right leader and party have to be chosen among them. Otherwise, we will be five years behind. We should be inspired to take the path of development. Millions of Nepalese who have gone abroad should be given to exercise the right to vote from abroad or not.

According to the former Election Commissioner Election Expert Prof. Dr. Birendra Mishra, political corruption has increased due to high expenses in elections. Therefore, a comprehensive reform of the electoral system is necessary. Caste, community and region have a big hand in the victory of elections. Criminals and corrupt are also participating in the elections. It needs to be improved. The large size of the ballot papers makes voting time-consuming and confusing. It is difficult for illiterate voters to stamp the election symbols, the waste votes will be higher. It is necessary to provide voter education at every polling station because digital education cannot make many voters rightly informed. When the ballot paper is big, it takes a lot of time to count the votes and the commission should also learn from the past. Costs can be reduced by reducing the time and labor of manpower required for vote counting. The Election Commission should also be aware of transporting voters by vehicles is a violation of the code of conduct. The root cause of corruption is the desire for comfort, the lack of democratic character in the parties that win the election, the expensive election system, the expenses of the candidates being high, the election commission being weak in controlling the expenses, etc.

According to Dr. Kapil Shrestha, a Professor of Political Science, the Election Commission in power is not only a unilateral act of the government and the political parties The Commission should not be politicized and partisan .It needs to be fair, independent and neutral. The commission should use power and authority to strictly enforce the codes of conduct.

According to senior advocate and anti-corruption activist Srihari Aryal, political corruption has increased due to the increasing cost of elections. He said that Elected officials have self-interested groups who invest in their election campaigns for financial gains and illegal interests.

In any functioning democracy, candidates need the support of voters. While in the past it was easy for parties to make promises in their manifestos, now they need to be more convincing. This election will determine the immediate future of Nepal. This is an election that will affect the next generation of Nepalese, so new and young voters should feel their presence and choice.

Our support will go to those who can convince us that they will perform till the end of their tenure. We are looking for leaders who will shape our bright future

The country has not been able to make the right leap because it has not been able to achieve economic growth and development through the current political system. Parties have become only ideological, theoretical and political centers. This system has become like a horse ride of opportunism. Only farce and drama of democracy is happening in Nepal. Democracy is not only distorted but also caught in political tension, temptation and corruption. . They are involved in nepotism and attachment to money. Buying and selling tickets for money and if not, they can go to another party. Every time they share dreams and make fools of the voters, they are involved in corruption. If we vote for them again, we will be cheated again. It is time to review what they have done in these years. In particular, emphasis should be placed on areas such as economic development, employment, industry, agriculture, and trade, but that has only happened rarely.

It is better to create jobs and industries than to provide unnecessary allowances. Most of the leaders have also misused the grant funds. The peace and development of the country is directly connected with political stability. There is great dissatisfaction of the people towards the executive, legislature and judiciary in Nepal. The people are only used as traditional vote banks

Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa responded by trying to take the leadership of the government. The main responsibility of the party should also be taken and his effort is to thank the political parties for bringing them here now and try to sit in the original driving seat for the next five years. Gagan Thapa has been saying that he is capable of becoming the Prime Minister because he can lead the youth. Thapa said, Nepali Congress leaders' BP and Sher Bahadur Deuba also became PM at the age of fewer than 50 years old

Thapa was already MP and Minister, it was natural for him to make a claim on the PM. In the Nepali Congress, only the leader of the parliamentary party is appointed as PM

We are now looking for new and young people. People are looking for new leaders rather than many-times-tested party leaders who have won many elections over the past 30 years. Traditional vote bank politics should also end. There has been a change in the understanding of leaders by young. Constitution, Democracy and the right to vote are now gradually being understood by the youth. Old leaders are also fighting for positions even those who have become PMs and Ministers many times are continuously participating in the elections.

This election should be a catalyst for change. Millions of young people hope to be reformers. It is important for them to emphasize employment, education and accessible education and health rather than only party and politics. It has been seen that the politics of Nepal is advancing at a faster pace after the last local elections. The parties and leaders of some major parties have felt the threat from the youth and have created obstacles. Young and active leaders have won in developed countries like New Zealand and Finland. The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party and Kejriwal in India has made BJP and Modi feel threatened. Vote banks and blind support should end to win over corrupt leaders. This election is also an opportunity for new and young. The public-private partnership should be started. Public accountability is essentially needed.

The presence of the youth has shocked the centrist parties. The number of young voters in Nepal is also more visible in the elections to be held in November. There has been a paradigm shift in the way young people perceive leaders. Although the right to vote is important in a democracy and the constitution, elections should be less expensive, effective, and practical. A large number of voters, especially in the cities, have moved away from the mainstream parties and the rise of independents and youth has moved in the direction of change. Whether it is Dharan or Dhangadhi or Kathmandu, Nepali politics is moving forward at a fast pace and has left many behind

This is an election to bring forward the next generation. Therefore, new and young voters should vote correctly. The support of the youth should be given to this party, which will do the right thing until the end of its tenure. We are looking for such leaders who can draw the line for a bright future. The criminalization of politics needs to be stopped. Federalism has given Nepal an opportunity to change this and encourage high youth participation in politics.

Currently, there are only 36,000 people's representatives at the local level. This can be seen as a dividend of federalism, whereby Nepal can test and train its youth for higher levels of political participation and decision-making. In fact, the political representation of youth in local elections is remarkable. In the local elections held this year, 41 percent of the candidates were young people. However, as only 15.32 percent of the youth are under the age of 30, Nepal would do well to encourage more youth participation. This is very important for the stability of our federalism.

It is more effective to provide some education qualifications to reach the public offices. e. The Election Commission should cancel the candidature of those involved in corruption and illegal activities. The people should also socially boycott them.

Compared to the past, election campaigning is done through digital, modern technologies, the internet and Social networking sites and the financial burdens are also reduced. Elections programs are being held openly and publicly. Leaders should stop to blame others as if they are always right others. What kind of party candidates and leaders we must vote for? That is very important. We should review this with an open and clear mind. Are we also the main cause of the misrule and setback in this country? , Now we have to analyze ourselves properly in this election.

Laws, policies and rules should be equal for all. There has been a lack of enthusiasm towards political parties, especially among the youth, and the main reason for this is their lack of internal democracy. Parties are seen as favoring dynastic and factional candidates, which leads to confusion, as seen in all the recently held conventions where all elected candidates were either part of a particular faction or dynastic political family.

Youth have historically played an important role in major political revolutions around the world. It has also been observed that youths who often lead movements but are not involved in informal political decision-making are confused, destabilizing the democratic process, which subsequently leads to conflict. It is necessary to encourage the active participation of youth in these processes to avoid adversity in the country's political and civic environment. A common vision within the country is the way forward.

Nepali youth have always been at the forefront of these revolutions, they have fought in the front line with the hope of reform for positive changes in society. However, the political representation of youth in formal politics is limited. Traditional political parties have long denied their youth workers proportional participation in leadership roles in parties or governance in all political struggles. In contrast to the world average of 13.5 percent, only 5 percent of Nepalese youth are represented in the federal parliament. . It has never incorporated the hopes and aspirations of the youth into the national political agenda for economic development and the future of Nepal. The underrepresentation of youth in formal politics is an expression of narrow-mindedness on the part of top leaders.

The low participation of young people in formal politics is due to several reasons, the main among them are country-specific legal provisions and the reluctance of political leaders to entrust youth with leadership roles. There is a legal requirement to run from the age of 21 in local elections and to wait until the age of 25 to participate in provincial and federal elections. Similarly, to become a member of the constitutional committee, one must be 45 years of age. In other words, the constitution of Nepal does not support youth participation. The law also provides an easy excuse for politicians to remain in political leadership and power. As a result, top leaders may have made this arrangement to fulfill their political interests.

Around the world in many countries, young people are encouraged to participate in political processes, and many steps are taken to spread information about their right to participate and make decisions.

However, no such work has been done in Nepal. For many young people, the idea that they can influence decisions made by the government seems too abstract, and issues that involve and concern adults are out of reach and in many cases irrelevant to their current lives. This has adversely affected the political participation and awareness of the young generation, resulting in a decrease in the participation of the youth in political debates and voting.

Youth as representatives of the political system is an important aspect of modern democracy. Involving youth in formal political processes will certainly help politicians to build a stable and peaceful society that responds quickly to the needs of the common people.

After Rishi Sunak, a person of Indian origin was elected as the new PM in the UK, this matter has received a lot of discussions not only in Britain but also all over the world. This is the first time that a person of Indian origin, especially a Hindu, has been able to become the PM of one of the oldest democratic and developed countries in the world. In addition to this, he is also the youngest Prime Minister in 200 years. He is 42 years old.

Matrika Koirala, BP Koirala and Tank Prasad Acharya became PM and Congress Presidents in their youth Ganeshman Singh Suvarna Shamsher was also a Ministers and Party Leader at a young age, and KP Bhattarai was the Speaker when he was a very young. Pushpa Lal, Manmohan, and Madan Bhandari were Communist party Leaders at a young and they were capable of leadership.

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were American presidents in their youth and they ran the government and the country successfully. After Lee Kuan Lew came to power, under his leadership, a small island country like Singapore became a developed and prosperous country in the world.

Is this country the family property or private company of Congress and Communist Parties? Are Deuba, Oli, Prachanda, Madhav Nepal, Jhalnath, Baburam etc only the leaders of this country who will always be in power and will always keep this country in corruption and misrule and distress? However, election expenses arising from local, provincial and federal elections, both by the government and candidates, are expected to put inflationary pressure on the country's economy. Regulatory efforts are needed to curb electoral costs and ensure transparency in the process. Despite the significant costs, elections should be treated as a public investment, which ensures a democratic decision-making process. Elected bodies will reap the return on investment in election costs after tangible transformations in the standard of living of citizens.

Politics should be used with a pure and clean mind for the benefit of the country and people. The trend of thinking that politics is only about position, prestige and money should end now. After the victory of independent Balendra Shah in Kathmandu, the competent, educated and energetic youths should be provided a chance to win In this election

Dhungana is a Lawyer/ Advocate, LLB ( Law) ( TU) MA in International Politics( JNU)