Opportunity for new faces

With the end of Dasain, the biggest festival of Nepali people, we are now heading towards Tihar followed by yet another festival -- the elections for the house of representatives and provincial assemblies. Unlike in the past, the upcoming elections will surprise many as it is likely to end the political career of many old leaders and bring in the younger generation of political leaders who seem very confident of bringing change to the whole political scenario of the country.

We all know that it is not an easy task to predict the outcome of an election, especially, in a country like ours where people are known for unpredictable moods and character. However, given the rise of the independent in the just concluded local election, the upcoming election is also likely to bring in new entrants in the political spectrum relieving the country from the old leaders who never represented us. Elections in Nepal have always drawn the attention of the media especially social media in recent times. Before the announcement of the major polls, a group of voters had launched a social media campaign urging the public to reject old faces, especially those who have already become prime minister. The theme of the Facebook page they created was “No, Not Again”. Such voices emerge time and again because the elected representatives engage in various wrongdoings, are self-centred and never prioritise good governance. Nevertheless, such voices have not translated into votes required to send new faces to parliament and provincial assemblies. Somehow, these feelings have not gained currency this time around and are likely to be reflected in the votes.

If we assess our experience with democracy, we will find that the same leaders have occupied Baluwatar. Whether Nepali Congress, Maoist or CPN-UML, we are forced to elect the same ageing leaders time and again. This would not be an exaggeration to say that these leaders are neither endowed with statesmanship, accountability, integrity and academic background. However, with the forthcoming election, the new and emerging leaders are likely to take over the charge of the helm giving fresh oxygen to the nation.

Nepal also lacks an age limit and a term cap for election candidates. Though there is a two-term cap for local representatives, other positions like the prime minister, chief minister, minister or lawmakers are free of any limitation. This gives them a chance for politicians to stay in office as long as they wish to. Several politicians have become lawmakers and ministers multiple times despite their repeated poor performances.

Over the years, observers have been suggesting implementing some measures to encourage new faces in parties and legislative positions. They hold the view that ageing leaders should hand over the leadership to new and emerging leaders to ensure their graceful exit. But, politicians who have been so much passionate about power never expressed their desire to step down despite repeated calls by the adolescent leaders in the party.

The nation has already suffered as a result of myopic leaders. Within the thirty years of democratic experience, we have seen several governments -- be it left or right. Sadly, no government was able to understand the nerve of the people laying the ground to breed disenchantment among people. They were busy beating their own trumpet ignoring the promise they have made to the people. But the growing popularity of the emerging leaders shows that better days will arrive soon. It also suggests that the days of the old leaders are numbered.

The positive thing is we are seeing a lot of fresh faces as candidates of the major political parties and also as independent candidates. The new faces have also come up with new agendas, which are bound to reflect in the voting pattern of the people. Sadly, the older and more established parties are only trying to save their positions in national politics and rather than coming up with programmes to uplift the living standard of the ordinary masses, they are only forging mind-blowing alliances with parties that have completely different political ideologies. This might be beneficial for a short time and also reflect well for such parties and their leaders, but in the long run, this will definitely have some political backlash. No doubt that the people still cherish the huge sacrifices made by veteran political leaders for the sake of the country. They are still mindful of the fact that leaders were sent to jail for defending and strengthening democracy by autocratic forces. Likewise, the leaders still have large loyal followers. But now it's time to embrace change for the betterment of the nation and the people. We cannot continue to ignore their mistakes, failures and setbacks. Fed up with poor governance, the people have been seeking alternative forces since we restored democracy. They were kept in the dark by the leaders who never fulfil what they promise. Now the new faces will be given the mandate to bail the country out of crises ensuring rapid economic growth and sustainable development. The new faces have immense opportunity to prove their mettle. We have they will not let us down.