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Voting counting for May 13 local elections held in 753 local governments has begun across the country. The preliminary vote counting has shown neck and neck competition between Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.

In some places including Kathmandu Metropolitan City, independent candidates have taken lead over party candidates. In some places, preliminary counting shows five-party electoral alliance has not worked well.

In 2017, CPN-UML has emerged as the largest party in the local elections closely followed by Nepali Congress, and CPN(Maoist) secured a distant third position. This time too, it seems two parties will compete tough to become the first. 

A total of 137,043 people have filed their candidacies for 35,221 posts in the May 13 local elections: 3,276 for mayor, 2,009 for deputy mayor, 3,264 for chairperson, 2,296 for vice-chairperson, and 32,217 for ward chairperson. Similarly, 23,521 candidacies have been filed for women members, 21,221 for Dalit women members, and 49,239 for ward members. There are 17.7m voters—and 3.6m of them are new ones. There is a great deal of curiosity about the voting preferences of these first-time voters. Pratik Ghimire of ApEx interviewed 10 of them.  

Jayanti Thakur, 19
Pipra Rural Municipality, Mahottari 

I am under pressure, including from my family, to vote for the candidate of a certain political party. Telling someone to vote against their will is wrong. So I am going to use my right carefully. I will compare all the candidates and vote for the progressive ones. I am particularly focusing on women candidates because they are capable too. It’s just that they are not given the right opportunities by political parties. Women candidates make only 10.4 percent of total candidates this time. It is a shame that our political parties are still not willing to give women the right opportunity to lead. 

Kusum Pariyar, 19
Dhulikhel Municipality, Kavre 

I am disgusted by Nepal’s political situation. The local level at least should be free of politics because we need representatives who can serve their communities. But the reality is different. The candidates want the mayoral post for their political parties. I haven’t found one good political candidate. A couple of independent candidates look promising, but the chances of them winning are slim. Honestly, I am not very excited about this election. 

Kartabya Regmi, 20
Changunarayan Municipality, Bhaktapur 

In the 2017 local polls, I went to my municipality’s polling booth with my parents as I wanted to see what voting looks like. I have wanted to vote since that time. Reaching a voting age means that you are now a responsible citizen. So I am excited. Each position in the local government has its own working area, power, and limits that have been beautifully set by our constitution. If elected representatives work within those parameters, I guess our problems will be solved. I will vote based on the strengths of individual candidates, not based on their political affiliations.     

Sarishma Kafle, 20
Nijgadh Municipality, Bara 

Last month, I took a training session on ‘voter education’. It taught me the importance of voting, and helped me understand my responsibility for the country’s future. I have researched every candidate contesting local elections from my municipality. I want to experience the election atmosphere in my hometown, so I am back here from Kathmandu for the polls. This is an exciting time. Some of my distant relatives are also contesting. I had never talked to them before, but I recently got their calls and they were asking for my vote. It is strange that they want me to vote for them because I am their relative. They didn’t even try to convince me why I should pick them. 

Siddhant Paudel, 20
Kushma Municipality, Parbat 

I am excited and nervous at the same time. I am not going to vote for the old, outdated candidates because they have been tried and tested several times and each time they have failed to deliver. I am supporting young candidates. This election is an opportunity to change old ways. Youths should lead at the local level. At the back of my mind, I also think, what if we elect young representatives and they too disappoint in the end? It is such a strange feeling but I am happy that at least I am being a responsible citizen by exercising my franchise. 

Aaditya Baniya, 21
Birgunj Metropolitan City, Parsa 

The past five years were a waste of time. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Birgunj had become a coronavirus hotspot, but the work of the local government was dismal. It showed that we were being led by incompetent leaders. I am looking for alternative candidates who can work on smaller but effective agendas like drinking water, transport, waste management, and parking. The big agendas of political candidates are all lies. I will vote for a social reformer who has already worked in my area, even though he may not hold any political position. They care for the community. Candidates fielded by the political parties are with the people only during elections. 

Rasil Adhikari, 21
Tarakeshwor Municipality, Kathmandu 

After reaching the legal voting age, I started studying how democracy functions and the value of my vote. There are certain things I want from my candidates. While the majority of the people seem to be motivated by their political allegiance, I am looking at the vision and values that the candidates bring to the table. My single vote may very well get buried among thousands of others, but my wisdom counts as much as anything. I will vote for someone who stands out among the candidates.  

Nilesh Niroula, 22
Barahakshetra Municipality, Sunsari 

There is a generation gap between our leaders and young people. Times are changing fast and these leaders are not adapting. I want to see someone who is young and competent lead my municipality and my country. I am familiar with the politics of Nepal and I don’t see any candidate worthy of my vote. Where do I show my disapproval of candidates? Why are political parties afraid of the ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) ballot option? It is high time that old politicians gave up their posts so that young people can lead this country. I am looking for a leader who can inspire this country’s youths. 

Prativa Regmi, 22
Jaljala Rural Municipality, Parbat 

We are just days from casting our votes, but I haven’t been able to find a worthy candidate with a clear vision and agenda. The candidates in the fray don’t represent us. They are here to serve their political parties. I was looking for a candidate who could assure the public with sound health, education, transport, and employment ideas, but there is no one. So I have decided not to vote and save myself from being a reason for the failure of this country. 

Sulochana Yadav, 22
Tirahut Rural Municipality, Saptari 

I am eager to vote on May 13. I now have the responsibility of choosing the right leaders for my municipality and my country. I am also curious about the candidates, especially the young ones. I have been discussing the works and backgrounds of candidates with my friends to figure out who the right representatives may be. We are all excited about voting for the first time. I think I will this time vote for candidates with good professional backgrounds.

Nepal votes this Friday (May 13) to elect new representatives for its 753 local units, in what will be the second local elections under the new constitution.  

From the Election Commission’s side, all systems are a go. Polling stations are being prepared and election materials being delivered and set up across the country. The poll governing body has also assigned returning officers to ensure that the election takes place in a free and fair manner.

Meanwhile, the government has activated the security forces—the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, and National Investigation Department—for election security. It has also deployed 100,000 temporary police personnel to help with the security arrangements. 

The government has declared May 13 a public holiday so that people can vote. Many people working and living in cities like Kathmandu have returned to their towns and villages to cast their ballots. There are 17.7m voters this time; 3.6m of them are first-timers.

A total of 137,043 people have filed their candidacies for 35,221 posts. The campaign period has ended, and the political parties and candidates are currently observing election silence. Now they wait for the voters to decide their fate. 

As a kid, every evening Sumina Shrestha would run to her artist neighbor to watch him draw.

She was intrigued at how portrays and landscapes would come to life on drawing papers, and desired to do so herself. 

Inspired by her neighbor, Shrestha, now 27, says she started sketching and doodling from a young age.

She grew up in the Dillibazar area of Kathmandu, and at school, she got excited whenever classwork required drawing diagrams.

Drawing meant everything to her, a pursuit that she was involved in most of the time. As she got better at it, she began drawing more intricate details. Her sketchbook became her constant companion. 

“People around me would tell me that my work was really good, and that motivated me to keep drawing,” she says.

The young Shrestha knew she would become an artist, but didn’t know what kind of artist. 

After finishing her school in 2012, she enrolled into Srijana College of Fine Arts to follow her dream. She graduated in 2015, and that was when a devastating earthquake struck Nepal. It was the deadliest natural disaster the country had ever seen. Thousands of people were killed and properties worth billions of rupees were reduced to rubble. The incident had a profound impact on Shrestha, she says.

“I realized how unpredictable life can be, that anything could happen anytime,” she says, “I was filled with the urgency to do something I loved, which was becoming an artist.”

Shrestha dabbled in thanka painting and drawing cartoons for a while, but they never gave her much joy. She then tried her hands at tattoo-making—and instantly fell in love with the craft.

Although she had always been interested in tattoo-design, becoming a tattoo artist was not something they ever thought about.

“Tattoos for me were just an interest. I never planned on learning the art form or becoming a tattoo artist for that matter,” Shrestha says. “I found tattoos cool and that was about it.”

She bought a tattoo machine with the money she had saved from making some commissioned artworks and started practicing on a rubber skin.

The feel of the vibrating tattoo machine in her hand and the humming noise it made gave her great joy. Throughout 2015, Shrestha says, she spent hour after hour making tattoos on a rubber skin.   

She also joined an organization of artists called ‘Get Well Soon’, which was created after the earthquake, and met other emerging and established artists from different fields of arts. The organization already had a smattering of tattoo artists and Shrestha felt right at home. 

There weren’t many female tattoo artists in Nepal when Shrestha was starting. Tattoo artists were mostly men, and it was considered a men's job. 

Shrestha feels fortunate that her family supported her when she expressed her desire to be a tattoo artist.

“This is not a conventional career, particularly for Nepali women. When I got started, tattoo culture in our country was still in its early days. So getting the support of my parents was really important,” she says.

She adds that the paucity of female artists in Nepal was also a strong motivator. 

“Entering a male-dominated field was both challenging and motivating. I knew many clients would rebuff a female tattoo artist, but I never let that affect me,” she says. “I wanted to prove myself with my work.” 

Shrestha started her career as a tattoo artist at Tattoo Pasal, a studio run by her friend at Jhochhen of Basantapur. 

She worked there for two years and the first tattoo she ever made was on her sister. 

In 2017, she got an offer from a Nepali-run tattoo studio in India, where she worked for little over a month before deciding to return home. Soon after, Shrestha landed another job as an artist and tattoo parlor operator at Thamel.

“This studio was located inside the premises of Wanderthirst Hostel at Thamel. There I was allowed to work on my own terms,” she says.

This opportunity helped Shrestha realize that she could open her own tattoo studio. While still working at the studio, she set up her shop, Suminu Tattoo, inside the hostel. She ran both the studios for three years before finally deciding to focus on her own business. She rented a space at Thamel and moved her studio there.

For Shrestha, making tattoos is a way of connecting with people, and learning their life stories and experiences.

“With every client, it is a new canvas, a different skin color, a different story and experience,” she says. “I get to interact with many interesting people as a tattoo artist, which is my favorite thing about this job.”