Nepal, Feb. 23 -- Nepal's next government should be judged by the lives it saves, not by speeches and ribbon-cutting Early on Monday morning, a bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu plunged off the highway in Dhading killing 19 passengers. Two weeks ago, another bus fell into the Tama Kosi in Manthali, killing 12. A few days before that a bus crash in Baitadi killed 13 people.

In just the month before Nepal's election, more than 50 people have been killed in road traffic accidents. In the past year alone, the country's roads and highways claimed more than 2,300 lives. Most of these cannot be called 'accidents' They are a direct result of poorly maintained highways and lack of enforcement of traffic discipline.

Political parties in Nepal have ro...