1980 Nepalese governmental system referendum

none Nepal 2 May 1980 Panchayat system Multi-party system 2,433,452 2,007,965 372,069 7,192,451 1980 Nepal Referendum.svg Results by district Panchayat #FFDC43 50-60% #F4C200 60-70% #DAAE00 70-80% #BE9600 80-90% #a88400ff >90% Multi-party #8dbbe2 50-60% #67a3d7 60-70% A referendum on the system of government was held in Nepal on 2 May 1980. Voters were offered the choice between a non-partisan panchayat system and a multi-party system. The panchayat system received a slim majority of 54.99%, whereas Multi-Party System only received 45.2% of the total votes. Voter turnout was 66.9%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p633 0-19-924958-X Background With the backdrop of mass student protests against his rule in the spring of 1979, King Birendra made a public declaration on May 23, 1979, that a referendum with universal adult suffrage with secret vote would be held in which the people of Nepal would be able to choose between introducing a multiparty system or retain the non-party panchayat regime.Shaha, Rishikesh. Politics in Nepal 1980-1990. New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1990. p. 51, 69. On 21 January 1980, King Birendra published the Referendum Rules, stating that after the referendum 'His Majesty shall make such provisions in the Constitution of Nepal as may deem necessary'.Shaha, Rishikesh. Politics in Nepal 1980-1990. New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1990. p. 62. Method of voting Nepalese citizens aged 21 and above were eligible to vote.Shaha, Rishikesh. Politics in Nepal 1980-1990. New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1990. p. 80. The voters would mark their choice by stamping either of two colours on the ballot paper, blue for the multiparty system and yellow for the non-party panchayat system. It was speculated at the time that the choice of colours had not been coincidental, since the yellow colour was associated with saintly religious qualities. There is no empirical evidence though, that the choice of colours affected the outcome of the vote.Shaha, Rishikesh. Politics in Nepal 1980-1990. New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1990. p. 68-69. Results yellow Panchayat system or #003594 Multiparty system? 2443452 4441417 2007965 7192451 372069 Panchayat system Multiparty system Nohlen et al., Rishikesh, sudd.ch By region ChoiceHillsInner-TaraiMountainsPlainsVotes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Panchayat1,126,16957.287,89534.0228,61771.1848,75444.6Multi-party844,12442.8139,02166.086,65828.9938,16255.4Invalid/blank votes158,581–20,645–25,061–69,041–Total2,127,615100278,780100340,3381002,066,753100Source: Rishikesh By district The panchayat partyless system option got a majority in 54 out of the 75 districts of Nepal. The highest percentage of pro-panchayat votes was recorded in Dolpa (96.4%), the lowest in Bhaktapur (34.4%). The highest scores for the multiparty system option were recorded in Bhaktapur (65.6%), Udaipur (65.1%), Siraha (64%) and Bardiya (62.1%). In general, the multiparty system option performed better in areas with higher literacy levels. DistrictVotesElectoratePanchayatMultipartyVotes%Votes%ValidInvalidTotalTotalTurnoutJhapa District72,33757.17%54,19842.83%126,53510,721137,256168,18481.61%Ilam District28,52553.45%24,84146.55%53,3665,45958,82576,14277.26%Panchthar District28,44256.92%21,52343.08%49,9652,79752,76271,51473.78%Taplejung District17,59757.49%13,01242.51%30,6093,36833,97756,78559.83%Morang District72,58948.08%78,38251.92%150,97114,737165,708208,77479.37%Sunsari District54,85348.31%58,69651.69%113,54911,353124,902152,00082.17%Dhankuta District31,49675.42%10,26524.58%41,7612,26944,03061,48371.61%Bhojpur District37,08365.02%19,95134.98%57,0343,59560,629100,28960.45%Tehrathum District18,17162.48%10,91237.52%29,0831,69630,77947,39064.95%Sankhuwasabha District25,56065.37%13,54234.63%39,1023,02142,12368,19061.77%Siraha District50,54335.95%90,06564.05%140,60815,652156,260196,87579.37%Saptari District71,05350.26%70,32249.74%141,37510,189151,564197,30376.82%Udayapur District12,39334.88%23,13365.12%35,5263,28938,81568,73056.47%Okhaldhunga District27,06269.97%11,61430.03%38,6761,84840,52469,35158.43%Khotang District46,57674.11%16,27025.89%62,8462,27665,122107,06460.83%Solukhumbu District20,22475.79%6,46124.21%26,6851,52228,20744,81662.94%Sarlahi District58,40942.54%78,88957.46%137,2986,510143,808197,39672.85%Dhanusha District74,79652.56%67,52047.44%142,31616,545158,861207,69576.49%Mahottari District70,88154.79%58,49845.21%129,3797,509136,888187,55272.99%Sindhuli District27,30858.87%19,07741.13%46,3851,01247,39779,32859.75%Ramechhap District24,93058.73%17,52241.27%42,4522,62245,07486,39752.17%Dolakha District27,98770.38%11,78129.62%39,7682,16441,93282,91250.57%Dhading District39,93264.93%21,57235.07%61,5044,05165,555121,87553.79%Nuwakot District40,48676.41%12,50023.59%52,9868,88661,872100,67961.45%Rasuwa District9,28974.65%3,15425.35%12,44371313,15615,42385.30%Kathmandu District68,14044.82%83,88455.18%152,0247,956159,980219,96872.73%Lalitpur District24,47238.53%39,04361.47%63,5153,63167,14685,18978.82%Bhaktapur District21,34636.63%36,92863.37%58,2742,81461,08876,11680.26%Kavrepalanchok District49,23061.30%31,08438.70%80,3146,51586,829149,69758.00%Sindhupalchok District43,26967.53%20,80832.47%64,0774,49068,567119,73657.27%Makwanpur District34,96057.88%25,44342.12%60,4033,89664,299104,73261.39%Chitwan District31,21944.00%39,73156.00%70,9505,84276,792105,88972.52%Bara District63,11459.23%43,44140.77%106,5555,827112,382146,91976.49%Parsa District63,86267.97%30,09132.03%93,9538,343102,296141,84172.12%Rautahat District54,38947.84%59,29452.16%113,6836,526120,209168,08371.52%Tanahun District24,15638.71%38,24361.29%62,3996,38468,783110,05262.50%Gorkha District43,56763.95%24,55636.05%68,1234,85772,980114,68663.63%Lamjung District24,93951.01%23,95048.99%48,8893,70852,59776,89268.40%Kaski District30,01243.01%39,76956.99%69,7815,57975,360111,22167.76%Syangja District46,20552.42%41,94147.58%88,1468,63296,778148,93964.98%Manang District3,04386.06%49313.94%3,536353,5713,96090.18%Rupandehi District52,66449.28%54,20450.72%106,8689,380116,248163,34771.17%Nawalparasi District47,27554.27%39,84245.73%87,1177,15994,276128,45673.39%Kapilvastu District49,75152.12%45,70047.88%95,4516,908102,359136,31275.09%Gulmi District36,27950.38%35,73549.62%72,0148,90480,918128,16863.13%Arghakhanchi District21,81251.73%20,35648.27%42,1683,00145,16979,90056.53%Palpa District26,96144.35%33,83155.65%60,7923,95664,748101,93063.52%Parbat District30,83164.53%16,94535.47%47,7762,12849,90480,16562.25%Myagdi District21,03665.56%11,04934.44%32,0851,14933,23447,75569.59%Mustang District5,89889.66%68010.34%6,5783216,8997,92487.06%Baglung District45,05967.68%21,51632.32%66,5755,71272,287113,04663.94%Humla District21,51883.99%4,10216.01%25,6201,85727,47734,92078.69%Jumla District4,78363.45%2,75536.55%7,5386178,15511,48071.04%Dolpa District9,26196.50%3363.50%9,59798410,58111,51891.86%Mugu District12,84484.50%2,35615.50%15,2001,22216,42221,35776.89%Kalikot District26,21185.30%4,51614.70%30,7274,02934,75644,69477.76%Dang District29,17345.25%35,30354.75%64,4766,28370,759113,07062.58%Salyan District21,75559.08%15,07040.92%36,8253,11739,94272,13355.37%Pyuthan District30,24571.56%12,01928.44%42,2642,66644,93077,30858.12%Rolpa District28,98370.02%12,40829.98%41,3913,59944,99085,14752.84%Rukum District19,91967.76%9,47832.24%29,3976,09935,49662,45356.84%Banke District37,76964.12%21,13835.88%58,9077,85666,76390,33173.91%Bardiya District19,19237.90%31,44862.10%50,6409,35359,99374,22080.83%Surkhet District19,02146.62%21,77753.38%40,7984,11944,91766,21667.83%Dailekh District26,35764.14%14,73935.86%41,0963,84344,93980,87755.56%Jajarkot District11,80556.65%9,03343.35%20,8387,66728,50546,39261.44%Kailali District27,70350.55%27,10449.45%54,80710,22565,032109,63859.32%Doti District15,13549.31%15,55950.69%30,6943,08033,77481,66341.36%Achham District28,35060.87%18,22639.13%46,5763,84950,425106,71247.25%Bajhang District25,32570.28%10,70729.72%36,0322,48638,51865,94758.41%Bajura District14,41671.58%5,72328.42%20,1391,55721,69637,21558.30%Kanchanpur District18,38248.74%19,33051.26%37,7124,24841,96072,32158.02%Dadeldhura District9,23547.28%10,29652.72%19,5312,30821,83945,60047.89%Baitadi District18,30854.56%15,24545.44%33,5532,28735,84092,37738.80%Darchula District14,66167.56%7,04032.44%21,7011,16722,86843,77252.24%Source: Election Commission The Hindu community was more or less evenly divided between the two options. The Muslim community is said to have voted predominantly in favour of the panchayat system. Ethnic groups like Tamang, Sherpa, Magar, Gurung and Kirati overwhelmingly supported the panchayat option, whilst the Tharu are said to have been predominantly in favour of the multiparty system.Shaha, Rishikesh. Politics in Nepal 1980-1990. New Delhi: Manohar Publications, 1990. p. 69-70. References Nepal Government Category:Referendums in Nepal Category:History of Nepal (1951–2008) Nepal