Manifesto Season in Nepal: Lofty Targets, Familiar Doubts

With exactly two weeks left before the House of Representatives elections, Nepal’s major political parties have finally rolled out their election manifestos – under different labels – and carrying lofty promises as always.

Although the Election Commission had required parties to publish their manifestos before the start of campaigning on February 16, most major parties unveiled theirs late. The timing itself reflects a familiar pattern. Grand pledges dominate the documents. Detailed roadmaps are largely absent.

Big visions, familiar doubts

History offers little reassurance. Successive elections have shown that manifestos in Nepal often serve more as voter bait than binding policy contracts. This election cycle appears no different.

On Thursday, February 19, the KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML released its 80-page manifesto. The party pledged to expand Nepal’s economy to Rs 10 trillion within five years, and to double it again in the following five years. Nepal’s current economic size stands at around Rs 6.1 trillion.

To reach that target, the UML promises annual economic growth of 7 to 9 percent. Recent data, however, tells a more restrained story. According to the Nepal Statistics Office, the economy is estimated to have grown by 4.61 percent in the last fiscal year 2024/25. While it grew by 3.67 percent in FY 2023/24, the figure stood at 1.98 percent in FY 2022/23.

Nepal’s strongest growth in recent decades came in FY 2016/17, when GDP expanded by 8.98 percent amid the post-earthquake reconstruction boom. Growth has since moderated, dipping sharply during the Covid-19 years before a partial recovery.

 

Welfare-heavy promises

Despite the growth gap, the UML manifesto is heavy on welfare. It pledges interest-free loans of up to Rs 2 million for students and women, a minimum monthly wage of Rs 25,000, and a Rs 20,000 monthly allowance for female community health volunteers. Poor families are promised loan waivers of up to Rs 25,000.

Other pledges include a Rs 20,000 nutrition allowance per child for new mothers, free sanitary pads for schoolgirls, and a $10,000 international transaction card for youth engaged in IT and start-ups. 

The party, which banned more than two dozen social media platforms in September last year when it was in power — sparking Gen Z–led protests that brought down the Oli government within two days and led to the dissolution of Parliament — now promises 10 GB of free monthly data for citizens aged 18 to 28. It has also pledged an annual Rs 5,000 bonus for migrant workers who remit money through formal channels.

Large infrastructure ambitions also feature prominently. These include the East–West railway and metro rail systems. The manifesto lists 11 priority tasks, five core commitments, and 25 so-called “pillars of prosperity”. 

RSP’s reform-first pitch

The Rastriya Swatantra Party also unveiled its manifesto on Thursday. Its 23-page document positions the private sector as the main driver of economic growth.

The party has promised to repeal around two dozen laws it says obstruct economic progress. It argues that scrapping outdated and cumbersome regulations would reduce production costs, improve the business climate, and attract both domestic and foreign investment. The party says its decisions would be guided by the recommendations of the Rameshore Khanal-led High-Level Economic Reform Recommendation Commission, as well as inputs from CNI and FNCCI.

Notably, Khanal is the finance minister in Sushila Karki-led interim government.

RSP has set ambitious targets. It aims for 7 percent annual economic growth and an economy worth $100 billion within five years, more than double the current size. It also targets per capita income above $3,000—roughly double the current level.

Vice-Chair Swarnim Wagle framed the party’s vision in blunt terms. Government services, he said, would be online, not in queues. The private sector would not need to knock on government doors. Tax burdens would be reduced. Long-delayed reforms would be pushed through.

The manifesto promises a one-stop service centre for investors. File submission would happen in one place. Forest and environmental approvals would be time-bound. Business registration would be digital, fast, and free.

The contrast with reality is stark. Nepal continues to lag behind regional peers in digital public infrastructure. Bureaucratic hurdles remain a persistent complaint among investors.

RSP also proposes structural reforms. These include restructuring the Revenue Tribunal, abolishing the Department of Revenue Investigation, and forming a professional revenue monitoring unit dominated by chartered accountants to curb corruption.

On infrastructure, the party has pledged to complete national pride projects stalled for the past 12 years within the next two years. It promises performance contracts for project chiefs, legal facilitation for land and forest clearance, and digital tracking of compensation payments. Beyond roads and hydropower, it envisions fast-tracked national pride projects in 10 new sectors, including sports cities, higher education and research, specialised healthcare, and cultural tourism.

However, almost all national pride projects are progressing at a snail’s pace.

Congress bets on revival

The Nepali Congress, meanwhile, has released a 200-page manifesto with equally bold economic claims. It aims to turn Nepal into an Rs 11.5 trillion economy and raise per capita income to $2,500 within five years.

The party has branded the next term the “Half-Decade of Economic Revival”. It promises second-generation economic reforms, total investment of Rs 13.75 trillion, and a private-sector contribution of 80 percent. The state, it says, would act mainly as a facilitator and neutral regulator.

Congress has pledged to keep inflation below five percent, ensure tax stability for 10 to 15 years through a “stability clause”, and make all business processes paperless. It proposes a fast-track tribunal for business disputes, labour reforms under a “no work, no pay” principle.

Special Economic Zones would be strengthened, with at least one operational SEZ in each province.

Promises without pathways

Across manifestos, the pattern is consistent. Targets are precise. Numbers are bold. But explanations are thin.

None of the major parties have clearly spelled out how they will bridge the gap between aspiration and execution. Financing plans remain vague. Institutional capacity constraints are rarely addressed. Past failures are seldom acknowledged.

As voters head towards polling day, the manifestos offer ambition in abundance. What they lack, once again, is credibility rooted in detail.