Focus on local polls

The Himalayan Times

14 March 2014

Focus on local polls

The representations of the local people at the local bodies used to ensure proper functioning of decentralization and democratic process. But for the last twelve years the local bodies have been run without elected representatives. None of the governments and big political parties showed interest in holding the local polls citing different reasons but derailing the decentralized local democratic governance process in Nepal based on the Local Self-Governance Act-1999. It was pity to see the well functioning local bodies gradually become defunct in the absence of local level election.

Pranav Bhattarai’s article “Local self-governance” (THT, 12 Mar, Page 6) rightly addresses the urgent need for holding the local polls in order to encourage local partnerships, people’s ownership and inclusive participation in planning, implementing and monitoring of local development programs. If the democratic process had continued, there could have been tremendous progress on further strengthening the democratic and decentralization process at the grass root level and implementing several local level development activities ensuring better living conditions for the local population. Once this process was derailed, the allocated development budgets, which were substantially increased in the recent years, have been massively misappropriated in the absence of proper controlling mechanism thus depriving local communities of their rights to development.

It is encouraging to hear that the NC led government is planning to hold local polls within six months.

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj, Kathmandu