- 46.9% of the people say that they don't trust what the prime minister says
- 51.7% of the people are in favor of declaring Nepal a Hindu state
- 44.3% say that the country is moving in the wrong direction
- 63 % of people say that they are not interested in politics
KATHMANDU, March 30: The country is heading toward the wrong direction and the conflicts within the political parties is the major reason for it, according to a national survey. Out of the surveyed population, 44.3% say that the country is moving in the wrong direction politically and the people blame conflicts within the political parties for this. The number of people who thought the country was going in the wrong direction has increased by 15.5 percentage points this year, in comparison to a similar survey last year.
The survey was carried out from February 21 to March 7, covering 5,082 households from all seven provinces of Nepal. The survey included demographic representation on the basis of caste and ethnicity, educational and occupational status, household income, age group as well as rural, city and urban population.
However, the reinstatement of parliament by the Supreme Court verdict has instilled hope to many. According to the findings of the survey, 53.2 percent of people said the country was heading in the wrong political direction before the reinstatement of parliament, and that number declined to 44.8 percent after the SC verdict on February 23.
In terms of provincial breakdown, 53.6 percent of people in Karnali Province say that country was heading in the wrong path while 36.8 percent of Lumbini Province said so. The survey showed that the city dwellers and urban mass is more frustrated than the rural one. A total of 51 percent of the city dwellers and 45.4 urbanites think that the country is heading in the wrong political direction, against 40.8 percent of the rural population.
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27.4 percent of Lumbini Province residents say that the country is heading toward a positive direction, against the national average of 21.9 percent.
In terms of ethnicity, Hill Brahmin (55 %), Newar (49.2 %), and Hill Chetri (46.6%) stand at the top in saying that the country is going in the wrong direction. Only 30 percent of terai janajati agree to this.
Educated people are more reluctant to consider that the nation is on the right path. A total of 61.1 percent of people who have an undergraduate degree or above think that the country is on the wrong path, while 26.4 percent of the illiterate population agreed to this.
In terms of age, people between 45 to 59 are less optimistic (46.8 %) about the country’s political direction. 36.7% of people between 16 to 24 say that the country is moving in the wrong direction.
On analyzing the attributing factors for the country’s wrong political direction, the survey found that 49.3 % of people believed that the conflict within political parties is responsible, followed by 36.8 percent of people who cited political instability as another major cause. Also, 27.4 percent believe it is weak leadership to blame for, while 23.4 percent believe it is corruption, and 20.6 percent of people cited wrong policies.
The study, conducted by Sharecast Nepal, showed that 55.8 percent of people consider unemployment as their top priority policy issue, followed by poverty and shortage (32.3%), price hike (23.4%), corruption (19.5 %) and political instability(15.4 %), among others. The same study has highlighted the need for the federal government to work on creating employment, poverty alleviation, road construction and corruption control as key policy priorities.
In terms of trust, the national survey found that 65.5 percent do not trust the political leaders followed by 46.9 percent of people, who did not trust Prime Minister Oli. Only 6 percent of the people have faith in political leaders while 11.3 percent trust PM Oli.
Also, 46.9 percent of the people say that they don't trust what the prime minister says. Only 11.3 percent of the people believe what the PM says.
However, people's trust in the Election Commission and the judiciary are found to be at a modest level. A total of 40.4 percent say that they trust the Election Commission in organizing free and fair elections while 44.1 % of people have said they trust the judiciary in delivering fair and equal justice to all.
Also, radio is the most trusted source of news for the larger population. The survey found that 62.4 percent of people consider radio as a trusted source of news, followed by television (55.6%), newspaper (11.6%) and Nepali online news portals (8.8%).
