Former Member of Parliament Sumana Shrestha has expressed strong dissatisfaction over what she describes as an attempt to deprive Nepalis living abroad of their voting rights under the pretext of lack of time and failure to build political consensus.
Her remarks come after the Acting Chief Election Commissioner, Ram Prasad Bhandari, informed the government that it would not be possible to arrange voting rights for Nepalis abroad and for out-of-constituency voting due to insufficient time and the inability to achieve political agreement.
Through social media, Shrestha questioned this decision, saying:
“Which political parties are trying to prevent already-registered voters from voting? Make their names public so that we also know. The Election Commission is a constitutional body with the mandate to conduct free and fair elections including all eligible adult voters. It does not need permission from any political party to do so.”
She further criticized the Election Commission for failing to implement the Supreme Court’s earlier mandamus requiring arrangements for voting rights for Nepalis abroad.
Shrestha asked, “There has been a Supreme Court order for years to make voting arrangements for citizens abroad. Why is there still no preparation? Does the Election Commission start working only after the election date is announced? If so, what is the purpose of having permanent staff at the Commission?”
Linking the issue to the spirit of the recent Gen-Z movement, she added:
“This election should carry forward the spirit of the August 23–24 uprising. No one should try to repeat the old system and bring back the same faces. If preparations cannot be initiated even this time, they never will. Don’t step back; we will support you—just like we did during the voter registration through the national ID card.”
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