Political Commitments to Policy Reflection in Nepal : An Analysis of Party Manifestos, Periodic Plans and Budget
Author: Kranti Pageni & Rojy Joshi Publication Type: Policy Discussion Paper 

Political parties make manifestos pre-elections, expressing their commitment towards various policy concerns in order to gather the support of the electorate or voters. A successful representation and performance of the political parties in the government can be measured in terms of the policy issues addressed in the country‟s plans and its annual budget, against the backdrop of the political manifestos. However, in Nepal, parties are often accused of failing to fulfil their pledges and there is a lack of a proper mechanism for evaluating the parties‟ pledge fulfilment.

This paper, therefore, has analysed the manifestos of political parties in Nepal from the past two major elections (2008 and 2013) and their reflection in the periodic plans and budget. By categorizing the pledges according to specificity and policy areas the paper aims to present an analysis of the extent to which the pledges have been fulfilled when the parties have been in the government. This analysis will help us to understand the priorities of political parties and how they might shift once they are in power.