Nepal’s coalitions could change markedly after polls

Significance

Voters will elect lawmakers for parliament’s lower house, the House of Representatives, and the seven provincial assemblies. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress party is contesting at the head of an alliance that includes current governing partners. It is set to face a tough fight from an alliance led by KP Sharma Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).

Impacts

• Many independent candidates will appeal to voters by arguing that the various parties have failed the public and should be rejected.
• Large-scale poll-related violence is unlikely, but there will probably be at least some outbreaks of unrest.
• The poll results will have a major bearing on next year’s presidential election, as the president is chosen by MPs and provincial lawmakers.