There was a significant increase in the number of political incidents between February 8 and March 22, 2018. 73 political incidents were recorded during this period compared to 32 during the previous reporting period between January 8 and February 7, 2018. The increase in incidents during this period can be attributed to the increased activities of unidentified groups and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN).

There were 32 political incidents recorded between January 8 and February 7, 2018. 29 incidents were related to protests over the location of provincial capitals, in at least four of those incidents the protesters clashed with police resulting into multiple injuries. Two incidents involved demonstrations against moving local level centers and one incident entailed a protest against the language used by provincial assembly members during the first province assembly meeting in Province 2.

There were 47 political incidents recorded between December 8 and January 7, 2017, the one-month period after the completion of the second phase of parliamentary and provincial elections. Of all the incidents recorded during this period, 20 were related to the parliamentary and provincial elections.

The first House of Representatives (HoR) elections under the new Constitution and the first-ever elections…

The Factsheet includes a summary of violence and contestation during the campaign silence period and election day from December 5 to 7, 2017 around Nepal’s second phase of House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections.

On September 18, 2017, the third and final phase of local elections was held in Province 2 consisting of eight Tarai districts. Voters in newly formed local units turned out in impressive numbers to elect new representatives. Democracy Resource Center Nepal (DRCN) conducted long-term and short-term observations of these elections to provide a critical and independent assessment of the electoral and political processes around the elections. This preliminary statement outlines findings and makes recommendations based on DRCN’s observation before, during, and after the third phase of local elections.

On September 18, 2017, Nepal held its third and final phase of local elections. Citizens enthusiastically voted to elect representatives to the 136 local units of Bara, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Parsa, Rautahat, Saptari, Sarlahi and Siraha districts of Province 2. Voter turnout was 77 percent. Polls happened after a number of districts in Province 2 had witnessed significant flooding in the month of August.

There were eleven election-related incidents recorded during the campaign period for the September 18 third phase of local elections that ran from September 6 to 15. This was the lowest number of incidents recorded during all three phases of elections, with 56 incidents recorded during the first phase campaign period, and 89 incidents recorded during the second phase campaign period.