The statutory power of the state is originally inherent in the people. Popular sovereignty through sovereign parliament is the fundamental basis of democracy for which periodic elections are held allowing people to elect their representatives. It is believed that voters use their sovereign power with conscious mind while electing their representatives. Therefore, right to vote has been a universally accepted inalienable value, norms and practice of democracy today. Since right to vote is the prerequisite, the inherent characteristics of democracy encompasses rights of a citizen under constitutional guarantee that include comprising broader aspects of universally declared human rights such as freedom of expression, association, movement, economic and social security rights etc.

In elections held in 2017 for local level, provincial assemblies and federal parliament under the federal and republican system, the turn out of the voters in the polling booths were encouraging, a symbolic approval of the people for the fledgling democracy of Nepal. However a considerable size of voters, which is about four millions, were left out from electoral process due to their foreign employment. Being left out from the ambit of the electoral process of a large numbers of voters, the question were also raised on the credibility of representation from different sections including the migrant workers themselves. Their resentment is expressive in a phrase “Note chalne vote nachalne” (remittance acceptable, vote not acceptable). This is an important issue for the election management body to ponder upon seriously and include migrant workers within the electoral process devising certain methods that guarantees their voting rights. Estonia could be a model for Nepal. In 2005, Estonia became the first country in the world to allow online voting nationwide. Now a third of all votes are cast their ballot through online voting system.  

Nepal needs to keep pace with the innovation and technological advancement that has revolutionized the world. Due to the presence of civil societies and mass communication the democratic space for people has been widened. Since people are heavily burdened with the plethora of information available online, information power has taken its lead suppressing the other branch of conventional power system. Politicians better know it that information power and financial power could translate to political power, thus the prolific use of digital campaign has revolutionized the electioneering.  However the impact of digital campaign during elections in 2017 are not measured, the velocity and volumes were not small as all major parties resorted to follow the technologies to lure voters in their favors.

The excessive use of data driven campaign may also pose a threat to democracy since the information overburden voters may be misguided through fake and unauthentic information. Information overburdened voters have the high chances of judgmental errors in electing right candidates. The role of social sites and media are under serious scrutiny after it failed to prevent the spread of false information during the 2016 US elections. It has also been reported that the Facebook is removing accounts linked to India’s main opposition Congress Party just before the election, because of “coordinated inauthentic behavior” on the social media platform (The Kathmandu Post, April2, 2019). These peace of information exhibits the rising importance of digital campaigning during election.

Nepal has to wait for another four years, if everything goes smoothly, for a general elections despite the occasional occurrence of by-elections. The time now is to transform the political commitment into reality through exercising democratic credentials without any restraint for transforming and materializing peoples’ expectation. People have an increased expectation from the federal democratic and republican order since Nepali people are yet to experience the “democratic dividend.” The use of political slogan, lofty ideological commitments and superfluous assurances pre-election and post- election by leaders without tangible outcome in both the fronts democracy and development, the critical mass will not only express resentment towards the governance but also the system as well. Risk of failure to deliver is likely to erode their trust and confidence in the system. The democratic deficit is a dangerous phenomenon for newly emerging democracy like Nepal.

The government can win the trust and confidence of the people depending upon the delivery of the government. It is also expected that the government take onboard the dissent voices that surface, maintain chord with the people all the time. The government’s snail pace of implementing projects and completing them in time irritates people enormously. People want to see the fast, fair and competent delivery system with the introduction of e-governance and digital growth, like- services after services, function after function of the government onto digital platform.  The court system also be digitized. The entire bureaucracy be conducted online. Let the system be in place that when a child is born, information is sent directly from the hospital to the population register, and from there automatically to the health care system. Its irony to mention here that the incompetency of the government was apparent for failing to complete a project for issuing national identity cards to Nepali. It would be a wish list that the government goes for all out digital revolution in transforming Nepal as a prosperous country.

Not to mention the authoritarian regime even the democratically elected government is prone to fall through mass agitation if it fails to see writings on the wall, voices listen and advise and opinion taken seriously. Simply electoral victory does not guarantee the approval of the government and its life. The vigilant voters are watchful of the performance and delivery of the government and any time they may turn about if their genuine expectation and grievances are not addressed properly. In every age, the frustrated youngster and disadvantaged mass seek refuge to vent out their frustration, displeasure, ire and anger, sometime violently, against the system and government. Every generation of people want the existing system transform their lives and meet their expectations according to global trend. The failure of democratic Constitution of Nepal, 2047 is the manifestation in this regard. The more the platform open for people allowing them putting their opinion and ideas and venting out their grievances, frustration, anger, people maintain their nerve and trust over the democracy they are part of it.  Top-down decisions should not just be announced by the government; ideas should be cultivated and encouraged-a participatory approach. Democracy is not only an art of winning the political power but also is the ability to oppose it-allowing uninterrupted and unhindered space to oppose the policies and programs of the government. To make democracy-a government of the people-work in a practical sense.