Nepalese Rastriya Panchayat election, 1981
Encyclopedia
Elections were held to the Rastriya Panchayat (National Council) in Nepal
on 9 May 1981. 80% of the seats were elected through adult universal suffrage
; this was the first election through universal suffrage held in Nepal in 22 years. However, political parties were banned at the time, and the main underground opposition forces (the Nepali Congress
and various communist
groups) called for a boycott of the election.
The election were the first to be held after the 1980 constitutional
amendment. In total there were 112 elected seats, whilst 28 were appointed by the King. According to official reports, 63% of the eligible voters took part in the polls. However, there were some inconsistencies in the report of voting numbers. Voter turnout was 52.2%.
formed two-member constituencies whilst the less populated 35 districts formed single-member constituencies. The 15 mountain districts were all single-member constituencies. The hill districts elected 57 seats, the inner-terai
districts eight seats and the terai
districts 32 seats.
. Virtually all candidates campaigned on slogans such as "God and Motherhood", portraying themselves as opponents of corruption and inflation. With the absence of organised political parties in the election, the campaign was rather low-scale. Mass rallies were not held, not even in Kathmandu. Most candidates relied heavily on door-to-door campaigning and canvassing through family, caste and ethnic networks. Candidates also used posters and vehicles with loudspeakers. The spending ceiling of each candidate was fixed at 30,000 Nepalese rupee
s.
Candidates had to pay a security deposit of 1,500 Nepalese rupees in order to contest the election.
The incumbent prime minister, Surya Bahadur Thapa
, contested and was elected from the Dhankuta district
. He got 40,546 votes in total. Two pre-panchayat prime ministers contested the election, Matrika Prasad Koirala
and Dr. K.I. Singh. Matrika Prasad Koirala contested in the Morang district
. He was supported, unofficially, by Surya Bahadur Thapa. Koirala did however lose the election, whilst K.I. Singh was elected.
Overall, the result was a setback for the ruling elite. Although all candidates were officially independents, various candidates were well-known as having the backing of the government. In total about 70% of the "official" candidates lost their seats. In the elected Rastriya Panchayat, there were 57 newcomers to the assembly.
The defeats of the officialist side was partially due to divisions inside the officialist camp. In Morang district
the royal house and the prime minister supported opposing candidates, eventually resulting in the defeat for both.
The candidate who received the highest number of votes was Hem Bahadur Malla, a cabinet minister. Malla got 76,720 votes. The elected member with the lowest number of votes was Tej Bahadur Bham, who got 3,137 votes.
Whilst the Nepali Congress leadership had called for boycott, the dissident fraction
led by Bakhan Singh Gurung had launched 36 candidates. Four of them were elected; Dr. K.I. Singh, Bakhan Singh Gurung, Kashi Nath Gautam and Bhagwat Yadav. The pro-Soviet Communist Party led by Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
had launched over 45-50 candidates, but none got elected.
Some independent leftwing candidates were elected, such as Govinda Nath Upreti (Kavre
), Rup Chandra Bista (Makwanpur
) and Karna Bahadur Hyuju (Bhaktapur
). Other independent supporters of reintroducing parliamentary democracy who were elected were Shribhadra Sharma, Arjun Narsingh K.C. and Prakash Chandra Lohani
.
Twenty-eight women candidates contested the election, out of whom two were elected; Nani Mainya Dahal and Bhadra Kumari Ghale. Dahal, a relatively unknown person in Nepalese politics at the time, swept the Kathmandu district
polls. Her election was seen as a mistrust vote against the establishment.
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...
on 9 May 1981. 80% of the seats were elected through adult universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
; this was the first election through universal suffrage held in Nepal in 22 years. However, political parties were banned at the time, and the main underground opposition forces (the Nepali Congress
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress is a Nepalese political party. Nepali Congress led the 1950 Democratic Movement which successfully ended the Rana dynasty and allowed commoners to take part in the polity. It again led a democratic movement in 1990, in partnership with leftist forces, to end monarchy and...
and various communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
groups) called for a boycott of the election.
The election were the first to be held after the 1980 constitutional
Constitution of Nepal
Nepal is governed under the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007. It came into force on January 15, 2007. the Interim Constitution was drafted by a committee headed by the late Justice Laxman Prasad Aryal...
amendment. In total there were 112 elected seats, whilst 28 were appointed by the King. According to official reports, 63% of the eligible voters took part in the polls. However, there were some inconsistencies in the report of voting numbers. Voter turnout was 52.2%.
Constituencies
40 out of the 75 districts of NepalDistricts of Nepal
Nepal's 14 administrative zones are subdivided into 75 districts . These districts are listed below, by zone...
formed two-member constituencies whilst the less populated 35 districts formed single-member constituencies. The 15 mountain districts were all single-member constituencies. The hill districts elected 57 seats, the inner-terai
Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal
The Inner Terai Valleys or Bhitri tarai are various elongated valleys in Nepal situated between the Himalayan foothills, the 600–900 m high Siwalik or Churia Range and the 2,000-3,000 m high Mahabharat Range further north. Major examples are the Chitwan Valley southwest of Kathmandu and the...
districts eight seats and 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 32 seats.
Campaign
Initially there were 1,451 total candidates, of whom 353 later withdrew. 70 of the candidates, spread over 43 different districts, had also contested the 1959 parliamentary electionNepalese legislative election, 1959
General elections were held in Nepal on 18 February 1959. The result was a victory for the Nepali Congress, which won 74 of the 109 seats. Voter turnout was 42.0%.-Results:...
. Virtually all candidates campaigned on slogans such as "God and Motherhood", portraying themselves as opponents of corruption and inflation. With the absence of organised political parties in the election, the campaign was rather low-scale. Mass rallies were not held, not even in Kathmandu. Most candidates relied heavily on door-to-door campaigning and canvassing through family, caste and ethnic networks. Candidates also used posters and vehicles with loudspeakers. The spending ceiling of each candidate was fixed at 30,000 Nepalese rupee
Nepalese rupee
The rupee is the official currency of Nepal. The present rupee has the ISO 4217 code NPR and is normally abbreviated with the sign ₨. It is subdivided into 100 paisa. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Nepal Rastra Bank...
s.
Candidates had to pay a security deposit of 1,500 Nepalese rupees in order to contest the election.
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independents | 3,855,525 | 100 | 112 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 223,118 | ||
| Total | 4,078,643 | 100 | 112 |
| Source: Nohlen et al, IPU | |||
The incumbent prime minister, Surya Bahadur Thapa
Surya Bahadur Thapa
Surya Bahadur Thapa has been Prime Minister of Nepal five times, under three different kings, in a political career lasting nearly 50 years. His terms were 1963-64, 1965–69, 1979–83, 1997–98 and 2003-04....
, contested and was elected from the Dhankuta district
Dhankuta District
Dhankuta District , a part of Kosi Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district covers an area of 891 km² and has a population of 166,479., Dhankuta is the district headquarters and a major administrative region in the Eastern...
. He got 40,546 votes in total. Two pre-panchayat prime ministers contested the election, Matrika Prasad Koirala
Matrika Prasad Koirala
Matrika Prasad Koirala was the Prime Minister of Nepal for two terms . He became the first President of Nepali Congress, when it was formed as a result of the merger of Nepali National Congress and Nepal Democratic Congress in April 1950....
and Dr. K.I. Singh. Matrika Prasad Koirala contested in the Morang district
Morang District
Morang District , a part of Kosi Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Biratnagar as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,855 km² and has a population of 843,220....
. He was supported, unofficially, by Surya Bahadur Thapa. Koirala did however lose the election, whilst K.I. Singh was elected.
Overall, the result was a setback for the ruling elite. Although all candidates were officially independents, various candidates were well-known as having the backing of the government. In total about 70% of the "official" candidates lost their seats. In the elected Rastriya Panchayat, there were 57 newcomers to the assembly.
The defeats of the officialist side was partially due to divisions inside the officialist camp. In Morang district
Morang District
Morang District , a part of Kosi Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Biratnagar as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,855 km² and has a population of 843,220....
the royal house and the prime minister supported opposing candidates, eventually resulting in the defeat for both.
The candidate who received the highest number of votes was Hem Bahadur Malla, a cabinet minister. Malla got 76,720 votes. The elected member with the lowest number of votes was Tej Bahadur Bham, who got 3,137 votes.
Whilst the Nepali Congress leadership had called for boycott, the dissident fraction
Nepali Congress (Subarna)
Nepali Congress is a political party in Nepal. The party was formed in 1978, through a split in the Nepali Congress. At the time of the split, the Nepali Congress was led by Bakhan Singh Gurung and Surya Prasad Upadhyaya. The party was initially known as the '38 group'.The party contested the...
led by Bakhan Singh Gurung had launched 36 candidates. Four of them were elected; Dr. K.I. Singh, Bakhan Singh Gurung, Kashi Nath Gautam and Bhagwat Yadav. The pro-Soviet Communist Party led by Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi is a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the communist movement in the country, but later turned into a royalist. Rayamajhi hails from a landlord Chetri family in Tansen, Palpa district....
had launched over 45-50 candidates, but none got elected.
Some independent leftwing candidates were elected, such as Govinda Nath Upreti (Kavre
Kavrepalanchok District
-Towns and villages:Anaikot Balathali Balting Baluwa Baluwapatti Deupur Banakhu Chor Banepa Batase Bekhsimle Bhimkhori Bhumidanda Bhumlutar Birtadeurali Bolde Fediche Budhakhani Chalal Ganeshsthan Chandeni Mandan Choubas Chyamrangbesi...
), Rup Chandra Bista (Makwanpur
Makwanpur District
Makwanpur District of 392,604. Bhimfedi market of the district was the traditional route to enter Kathmandu valley from the south.-Village Development Committees :*Agara*Ambhanjyang*Bajrabarahi*Basamadi*Betini*Bhaise*Bharta Pundyadevi*Bhimfedi...
) and Karna Bahadur Hyuju (Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur District
Bhaktapur district, located in the eastern part of Kathmandu valley, is the smallest among the seventy-five districts of Nepal. The district, with Bhaktapur as its district headquarters, covers an area of 119 km² and has a population of 225,461....
). Other independent supporters of reintroducing parliamentary democracy who were elected were Shribhadra Sharma, Arjun Narsingh K.C. and Prakash Chandra Lohani
Prakash Chandra Lohani
Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani is a Nepalese politician, economist, and co-president and head of the parliamentary department of Rastriya Janashakti Party ....
.
Twenty-eight women candidates contested the election, out of whom two were elected; Nani Mainya Dahal and Bhadra Kumari Ghale. Dahal, a relatively unknown person in Nepalese politics at the time, swept the Kathmandu district
Kathmandu District
Kathmandu District is a district located in Kathmandu Valley, Bagmati Zone of Nepal, a landlocked country in South Asia. It is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, covers an area of 395 km2 and is the most densely populated district of Nepal with a population of 1,081,845 in 2001...
polls. Her election was seen as a mistrust vote against the establishment.