By TNW correspondent
Preparing a likeable manifesto for March 5 election appears to have dominated political parties’ internal preparation for going to people to seek their votes.
“What to vote for? is what should be clarified in advance for effective campaigning”, said some members of new parties just registered in the Election Commission. They expressed determination to have a highly appealing manifesto for the polls.
Old parties and their leaders particularly Nepali Congress, CPN UML and Nepal Communist Party (NCP) also feel the same way despite their heavy engagement in internal work of holding convention and unity announcement gatherings.
History shows all parties participating in polls routinely bring out manifesto –digital and physical – as they go on campaigning for votes among voters. On the surface it is just a wish list or not more than oral pledge of a political party. In substance, however, political parties could justify through the manifesto why voters should support them this time around.
Two factors such as the impressive presence of youths in political space and the after effects of recent Gen Z revolution compel those who script manifesto to look responsive to the cause of youths and aspirations for quick results. Parties should mention how they would move forward to future with pledge to respond to all reasonable expectations of Gen Z and others. Political observers feel: the proposition to amend certain provisions in the constitution, create environment for good governance and avoid corruption, generate more employment opportunities, and ensure political stability and peace for smooth running of the economy and other sectors could be some highlights of some manifestoes.
All stakeholders of polls are looking forward to how parties plan to face the challenge of presenting an applied version of the pledges mentioned in the manifesto. That challenge is what troubles all parties – old or new, independent or partisan – at the moment.
