Nepal will hold national and provincial elections on Sunday, which the ruling coalition, led by the centrist Nepali Congress party, is expected to win. About 18 million people are eligible to vote for the 275-member parliament, as well as the 550 members of seven provincial assemblies through a mix of first past the post and the proportional representation system. Here are key issues that will determine how the Nepalis vote. The economy of the Himalayan nation, wedged between Asian giants China and India, is slowing down, hit by rising energy and food prices, monetary tightening and fears of a global recession. The $38bn economy is expected to expand 4.7 percent in the current fiscal year starting in mid-July, according to Asian Development Bank (ADB), down from the previous year's estimate of 5.8 percent.

Maoist Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned on Wednesday, leaving a leadership vacuum weeks before the second round of local elections. Dahal took office only nine months ago. The municipal and village assembly vote is the first in the past two decades. The prime minister's exit from government was somewhat expected under a power-sharing deal with the Nepali Congress Party. It came earlier than predicted though after the Communist UML opposition party threatened to block Dahal's speech in parliament, saying the government had created local and municipal bodies without due legal process.