KATHMANDU, Nov 23: With the election scheduled for March 5, political parties have begun registering at the Election Commission in large numbers. The commission is also processing applications from several newly formed parties with unique names.
According to Narayan Bhattarai, spokesperson for the Election Commission, a total of 40 parties have registered so far under Section 48 of the Political Parties Act, 2016. The deadline for election-related party registration is November 26, and more parties are expected to join in the remaining four days.
“This is a regular process, but parties must register again specifically for election purposes,” spokesperson Bhattarai said, “New parties can register anytime, but to contest the March 5 election, they must complete registration by November 22; otherwise, there may not be enough time to review their documents before issuing a new certificate.”
EC serves March 26 deadline for parties to register for by-elec...
According to the commission, all registered parties are eligible to participate in both the first-past-the-post and proportional representation systems. Parties already registered include the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal led by Upendra Yadav, the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party led by Narayan Man Bijukchhe, the Rastriya Swatantra Party under Dol Prasad Aryal, Ashok Rai’s Janata Samajbadi Party, the Aam Janata Party led by Prabhu Sah, Rastriya Janamorcha led by Chitra Bahadur KC, CPN-ML led by CP Mainali, the Janamat Party under CK Raut, the Federal Democratic Party led by Rukmini Chaudhary, and the Nepal Pariwar Dal led by Eknath Dhakal.
Likewise, the newly formed Nepali Communist Party—created through an alliance of leftist parties including CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist) and led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal—has registered for the March 5 election. Other parties that have registered include Harinarayan Yadav’s Rastriya Janata Party Nepal, Dinesh Raj Prasai’s Gatishil Loktantrik Party, Anil Kumar Jha’s Nepal Sadbhavana Party, and the Federal Democratic National Forum led by Kumar Lingden. The Nepali Congress also decided on Saturday to register for the upcoming election.
So far, 12 new parties have received official registration certificates, while 28 are still undergoing verification. Newly registered parties include the Labour Culture Party, Gatisheel Loktantrik Party, Nagarik Unmukti Party Nepal, Rastriya Parivartan Party, Rastriya Janamat Party, Communist Party Nepal, Rashtranirman Dal, Rastriya Urjashil Party, People’s First Party, and Ujyalo Nepal Party.
The commission must issue certificates within 45 days to parties that complete the required process. Officials are currently reviewing documents and verifying details of parties that have applied. A rush to register parties with new names is underway, and applicants may also select their preferred election symbols.
837,000 new voters added
Following the election announcement, 837,094 new voters were added as of November 21. According to the Election Commission, 344,914 new voters were registered using biometric data—including photos and fingerprints—while 492,180 were added through the National ID system. Online registration surged after the commission allowed voters to register based on National ID details.
