Current Work
During this critical and historic political transition for Nepal, IFES provides technical and capacity-building support to the ECN to help it fulfill its pivotal role in Nepal’s democratic process. Since April 2010, IFES has been assisting the ECN with the development and implementation of its major nationwide program to update the voter register using fingerprints and photographs. IFES and the Commission are creating a voter education strategy in support of this program and developing and drafting new electoral laws and procedures under the new constitutional framework.
Working with the ECN and its BRIDGE partners, UNDP and International IDEA, IFES has conducted several BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections) professional development training programs for Nepalese election officials. BRIDGE trainings have been successfully implemented in Nepal since 2008 and to-date over 300 participants have been trained in a range of topics, including pre-election activities, voter registration, polling and counting, electoral justice, and gender.
Past Work
IFES has had a formal presence in Nepal since 2004. Since that time, IFES provided long term and high level technical assistance to the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN). IFES’ support was critical to the successful implementation of the Constituent Assembly election, with IFES providing advice to the ECN on the design and production of 241 different ballots and financing the production of the 42 million ballots needed for the election. IFES also provided financial and logistical support for the Commission’s cascaded polling and counting training program which resulted in the training of 44,000 election officials. IFES also funded a nationwide street drama program to promote key electoral messages to the Nepali public and established a Nepal elections web portal. IFES also helped the Commission’s strategic planning process and worked with the Commission on its public outreach, including the development of a branding strategy for the institution and facilitating development of the Commission’s website.
Political Background
April 10, 2008, marked Nepal's historic Constituent Assembly election, following a decade-long Maoist insurgency. Approximately 60% of the country’s 17.6 million voters enthusiastically turned out to vote in 9,821 polling locations. The total cost of the election was estimated to be around 40 million US dollars.
The process of counting and declaration of the elected candidates took several weeks, and resulted in the Maoists winning the highest proportion of seats. This landmark shift in Nepali politics was fully accepted by all contenders, as well as the electorate itself.
Quotas were set to guarantee a high representation of oppressed and under-represented groups in society, including women who gained an impressive 33% of the seats.
Following the election, the Constituent Assembly held its first sitting on 28th May 2008. However, since the initial jubilation following the election, Nepali politics has since been characterized by political turmoil and deadlock, resulting in the deadline set for promulgation of the new Constitution being extended until May 2011. Work is currently ongoing to form a new government and to resolve the outstanding issues of political contention in order for the Constitution to be finalized on time.