BIRATNAGAR: The upcoming House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5 has stirred villages and towns alike. Candidates are visiting homes of voters, offering various promises and dreams. While election campaigns and voting are nothing new for older voters, for young people voting for the first time, this election feels like a festival. Eager to use their vote as a tool for change, they are excitedly waiting for polling day.

According to data from the Election Commission, 837,094 new voters have been added this time. After the election date was announced, voter registration was conducted from 25 September to 21 November 2025, during which 473,345 men, 363,778 women, and 61 others registered their names, bringing a large number of youths into the voter list.

Among these new voters, 157,613 are from Koshi Province alone. Of the 14 districts in the province, Morang has the highest number of new voters at 44,402. These first-time voters appear eager to determine their future through the ballot box.

Excitement and accountability

Nineteen-year-old Barsha Agrawal from Biratnagar Metropolitan City-9 is very excited about voting for the first time. Along with her excitement, she also believes that the candidate who wins must live up to their legislative responsibilities. She is carefully evaluating candidates based on good governance and a corruption-free society. Barsha says, “I have only one expectation from the candidates – after winning, they should work honestly for the country and end corruption. After this election, the country should move in a positive direction and gain new momentum.”

Behind the excitement of youths preparing to vote for the first time, there is also a deep pain and demand hidden within — employment in their own country. Due to the lack of good job opportunities at home, thousands of young people are forced to go abroad every year, and this reality has left them frustrated. They hope that the government formed after this election will introduce concrete policies capable of retaining youth within the country.

Eighteen-year-old Bibitraj Shrestha of Biratnagar-11 says he will vote with the expectation that he won’t have to go abroad after completing his bachelor’s degree. “My expectation is simple—after finishing my studies, I should get a job in my own country according to my qualifications,” he says. “Leaders should create development and employment opportunities.”

Young voters about to vote for the first time.

Twenty-year-old Gaurab Rai of Biratnagar-15 links his vote to past movements and issues. “I am very excited. I’m curious about the voting process at the polling center,” Gaurab says. “We will vote for the party that supported our issues and movements. We don’t want talk anymore—we want change.”

Nineteen-year-old Rojesh Rada of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City-16 in Sunsari also expresses a hunger for change. “This will be my first vote for change. I want new candidates to give the country a new direction,” he says.

For nineteen-year-old Ranaja Chaulagain of Biratnagar-1, Pokhari, voting is not just a constitutional right but also an opportunity to hold leaders accountable. “I want to choose a candidate who listens to our concerns,” she says. “Youth should not have to go abroad for jobs after studying; we should be able to see our future in our own country.”

Search for education reform and self-employment

Twenty-year-old Shreya Luitel of Biratnagar-1 believes the country’s education system needs major reform. She says, “We need leaders who understand our feelings and bring change. Youth migration should be stopped, and there should be qualitative improvement in education.”

Nineteen-year-old Swati Paudel of Biratnagar-10 shares a similar view. She seeks a corruption-free Nepal and respectable employment opportunities within the country. Twenty-year-old Abhishek Kumar Dhami of Gramthan Rural Municipality-4 in Morang says representatives should create an environment where higher education leads to employment within the country.

As the election approaches, candidates are distributing grand promises of development, good governance, and prosperity. While older voters express distrust, saying candidates are repeating the same old promises, the new generation holds onto hope that their vote can change the country’s destiny. Twenty-one-year-old Sujan Chaudhary of Gramthan-3 in Morang says, “The representatives we choose should create policies that promote self-employment within the country and be able to end corruption.”