Nepalese Rastriya Panchayat election, 1971
Encyclopedia
Elections to the Rastriya Panchayat (National Council) were held in Nepal
in 1971. At the time, the Rastriya Panchayat had 125 members; out of them 16 were appointed by the King, 90 were elected by Zonal Assemblies, 15 were elected by class organisations and 4 were elected by the graduates constituency.
, one representative for each district
. The 15 districts with a population of more than 100 000 were able to elect an additional Rastriya Panchayat member. The Anchal Sabhas consisted of all the members of the Zilla Panchayats (District Councils). Each Zilla Panchayat had 11 members, who were elected from the town or village panchayats in the district. The town and village panchayats were elected from local assemblies in which all adult residents could vote.
A potential candidate had to be a Zilla Panchayat member of the concerned district to be an eligible to contest a district seat. Moreover, the potential candidate had to be proposed and seconded by two other members of the same Zilla Panchayat. To be elected the candidate would need a simple majority of the votes in the Anchal Sabha. The system favoured the less populates areas in the hills, whose districts had a much lower population than the Terai
districts in the south.
, demanded direct transition to parliamentary democracy.
The prime minister Kirti Nidhi Bista
campaigned against the reformist candidates as opponents of the Panchayat system. However, the regime was embarrassed as the reformist candidates were elected, including Ram Raja Prasad Singh.
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
in 1971. At the time, the Rastriya Panchayat had 125 members; out of them 16 were appointed by the King, 90 were elected by Zonal Assemblies, 15 were elected by class organisations and 4 were elected by the graduates constituency.
District representatives
The district representatives were elected by the Anchal Sabhas (Zonal Assemblies) of the 14 Zones of NepalZones of Nepal
Nepal is divided into 14 administrative zones , and 75 districts . The 14 administrative zones are grouped into five development regions...
, one representative for each district
Districts of Nepal
Nepal's 14 administrative zones are subdivided into 75 districts . These districts are listed below, by zone...
. The 15 districts with a population of more than 100 000 were able to elect an additional Rastriya Panchayat member. The Anchal Sabhas consisted of all the members of the Zilla Panchayats (District Councils). Each Zilla Panchayat had 11 members, who were elected from the town or village panchayats in the district. The town and village panchayats were elected from local assemblies in which all adult residents could vote.
A potential candidate had to be a Zilla Panchayat member of the concerned district to be an eligible to contest a district seat. Moreover, the potential candidate had to be proposed and seconded by two other members of the same Zilla Panchayat. To be elected the candidate would need a simple majority of the votes in the Anchal Sabha. The system favoured the less populates areas in the hills, whose districts had a much lower population than the Terai
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
districts in the south.
Class organisation representatives
The following official class organisations were able to select their representatives in the Rastriya Panchayat. The representatives were elected by the central committees of the respective organisation, through a Preferential Proportional Representation vote:- Peasants Organisation; 4 seats
- Youth Organisation; 4 seats
- Women's Organisation; 3 seats
- Labour Organisation; 2 seats
- Ex-Servicemens' Organisation; 2 seats
Graduates constituency
The college graduates of the country, numbering about 13000 at the time, were able to elect four members of the Rastriya Panchayat. The representatives were elected with Preferential Proportional Representation vote. The candidates had to be college graduates themselves. In total 22 candidates were in the fray. Seventeen of them contested on a joint reformist agenda. One candidate, the young advocate Ram Raja Prasad SinghRam Raja Prasad Singh
Ram Raja Prasad Singh is a Nepalese politician. In July 2008, Singh was proposed by the Communist Party of Nepal as their candidate in the first presidential election in the country....
, demanded direct transition to parliamentary democracy.
The prime minister Kirti Nidhi Bista
Kirti Nidhi Bista
Kirdi Nidhi Bista is a Nepali politician. He served as prime minister of Nepal from 1969 to 1970, 1971 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979.After the coup d'etat of King Gyanendra in 2005, Kirti Nidhi Bista was appointed one of the vice-chairmen till the government collapsed in April 2006 after the people's...
campaigned against the reformist candidates as opponents of the Panchayat system. However, the regime was embarrassed as the reformist candidates were elected, including Ram Raja Prasad Singh.