Understanding the Preferences and Perceptions of Young Voters
By Yale-LSE-GovLab
Overview
As Nepal gears up for local elections, it is important that the programs of political parties are informed by the priorities of citizens. In this memo, we use data from a citizen survey (SNP) conducted by Kathmandu University, Interdisciplinary Analysts and Asia Foundation in Feb-March 2020 to shed some light on citizen preferences and perceptions, especially in relation to local governments. SNP 2020 was administered to a nationally representative sample of 7,060 respondents covering 388 palikas (municipalities or rural municipalities). Throughout the memo, we disaggregate our analysis by four age cohorts: 18-21 (N=446), 22-35 (N=2,268), 3650 (N=2,316), and 50 and above (N=2,030). Parties might be especially interested in the outlook and priorities of the first age group (18-21) because these young voters are expressing their preferences through the ballot box for the very first time.
Key Insights
- Young, first-time voters are more optimistic about the country’s direction and their household’s economic prospects than older voters.
- Irrespective of age group, voters perceive increase in corruption and increase in prices as the major problems in the country. Compared to men, women are more likely to mention increase in prices and less likely to mention increase in corruption.
- Voters of every age group report high levels of trust in their local government, but much lower trust in political parties.
- Young and old voters similarly rate the services provided by their local government, but first-time voters are less aware of their local government’s development projects than older voters.
- Voters generally want their local government to prioritize services related to roads, infrastructure, and education. However, compared to older voters, young voters are more likely to want their local government to focus on employment.