A day after the Election Commission-set date to file candidacy for the FPTP seats of the federal parliament and the provincial assemblies, almost all newspapers published in Kathmandu on Friday have given priority to reports on the polls. Here’s a summary of reports published on the front pages of Friday’s edition of broadsheet dailies:
Important
4,708 candidates file papers for second round of elections
A total of 4,708 people have filed papers to contest the second round of federal and provincial elections to be held on December 7. Naya Patrika has a list of popular face who are not contesting elections this time. The list includes the Nepali Congress’ KB Gurung, Guru Raj Ghimre, Dhan Raj Gurung, Manmohan Bhattarai and Kamala Panta. Similarly, Yubaraj Gywali, Amri Bohora, Keshav Badal, Agni Kharel and Thakur Gaire of the UML won’t contest elections. The Maoist Centre’s Ram Bahadur Thapa, Amik Serchan, Leelamani Pokharel and Himal Sharma are also not on the list of candidates.
The paper also has a list of top leaders against whom ‘rebel’ candidates have filed papers. According to Naya Patrika, Nepali Congress’ Ram Chandra Paudel is being challenged by rebel candidate Govinda Raj Joshi for the Tanahun-1 seat. Kantipur says that the candidacy filed by former minister Govinda Raj Joshi is illegal as he was convicted in a corruption case by the Special Court.
Similarly, UML top leader Madhav Nepal is being challenged by district committee member and rebel candidate LP Shrestha. In Mahottari, former MP Chandreshwor Jha is up against RJPN leader Mahanta Thakur.
Silwal up against minister
Rajdhani reports that former DIG Nawaraj Silwal has filed his papares for the Lalitpur-1 seat. He is up against Nepali Congress leader and Minister of State for Finance Uday Samsher Rana. Silwal recently quit his job in the police after he was denied the post of Inspector General. He moved court against the government decision of the government to appoint Prakash Aryal as the new police chief, but his petition was quashed.
Only 10 pc of candidates are women
Although the constitution guarantees women 33 per cent of the seats in Parliament, the list of candidates of major political parties does not reflect this provision. Annapurna Post says that only 10 per cent of the candidates who filed their papers for the federal elections are women.
Left alliance wants poverty-free Nepal in 10 years
The left alliance (a grouping of two major communist parties in Nepal: the UML and the Maoist Centre) has released its manifesto for the upcoming elections. The parties say that if they come to power, they will make Nepal poverty-free within ten years. Similarly, they have also promised to complete all post-quake reconstruction work within two years, and to increase the per capita income of Nepal to $5,000 in 10 years.
Ignored
Pay female workers at par with male counterparts: SC
Nepal’s Supreme Court has directed the government to ensure equal remuneration for male and female workers in various enterprises and monitor the situation properly. Republica reports that a division bench of Justices Deepak Raj Joshee and Purushottam Bhandarai issued the order in response to a petition lodged by a team of lawyers.
Checkpoints with India ‘sensitive’
Karobar reports that Ministry of Home Affairs has classified over six dozen border crossings with India as ‘sensitive’. According to the report, illegal weapons seized from different parts of Kathmandu in the past few weeks have been traced to India. The report quotes a home ministry official to say that police presence has been stepped up along the border in the wake of the threats.
