ABSTRACT
Administratively/politically, Nepal is divided into 14 zones, 15 districts and 3,914 panchayats (basic political units) or villages. Villages are further subdivided into nine wards. The panchayat system of political organization proposes to simplify and streamline the process of the choice of leaders at all levels of society. At the lowest level of wards, or village divisions, peasants democratically choose a representative. This representative, along with those from the other wards, chooses a village representative and so on up through the highest levels of government. Theoretically, this allows every citizen democratic representation at all levels without the existence of political parties of any kind.
