SATV Kathmandu Oct 08: A month after election dates were announced, the Election Commission is preparing to hold consultations with the political parties and other stakeholders next week.
The constitutional body decided to hold the discussions after a meeting with Prime Minister Sushila Karki and other ministers on election preparations on Tuesday.
“The commission was already planning for the consultations while the prime minister also suggested this,” said Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson for the commission. “We will sit with the political parties and other stakeholders on October 16 or 17.”
Over the month since the election dates were announced, neither the commission nor the Karki administration has held discussions with the political parties and other stakeholders. With no steps of engagement from the commission and the government, the traditional parties have started questioning their intentions.
President Ramchandra Paudel, on the recommendation of the interim government formed after the Gen Z movement, on September 13 dissolved the House of Representatives and announced elections for March 5.
In Tuesday's meeting, while asking the commission to engage the parties, Karki had also assured that her government will also hold election-focused discussions very soon.
In the discussion, Karki stated that holding the House of Representatives election is a top priority of her administration and it was ready for any support.
“She also urged the commission to move forward intensively with tasks as per the election schedule, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, and assured that the government would create a conducive environment from its side as well,” reads the statement issued by the commission.
The meeting attended by Minister for Finance Rameshore Prasad Khanal, Minister for Home Affairs Om Prakash Aryal and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anil Kumar Sinha also agreed to make the election successful on the stipulated time. Chiefs of Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and National Investigation Department and the defence secretary, along with senior officials, too were present in the meeting.
Publishing a detailed election schedule on Monday, the commission has announced the voting would be held between 7 am and 5 pm on March 5.
“It was decided unanimously to hold the election on the stipulated date in a single phase,” said acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari.
During the meeting, the commission also presented the list of logistics necessary to hold the elections. “The government has agreed to make it available whenever necessary,” said Bhandari.
In the 275-strong lower house, 165 members are elected through the FPTP while the remaining 110 get elected under the proportional representation based on the vote shares of each party.
Currently, the constitutional poll management body is registering new voters for the upcoming polls. As per the commission’s report, as many as 18,148,654 voters have been listed as of Chaitra, the end of the Nepali year 2081 in mid-April.
As many as 17,988,570 voters—9,140,806 men, 8,847,579 women and 185 from other categories—were eligible to cast their ballots in November 2022.
By April 2025, in two and a half years, the number increased by 160,054 to 18,148,654. As per the election schedule, any group intending to contest the upcoming elections must register as a political party by November 16.
Submission of the party statute, its flag, election symbol and signature of at least 500 voters, among other documents, to the commission is a must to be listed as a political party.
Different Gen Z groups, which are preparing to contest the upcoming polls, will have to register their parties following the due process by mid-November. As of July, 122 political parties have been registered with the commission.
As per the commission’s schedule, the parties willing to contest the next year’s polls should register separately for the purpose. They will have 10 days to do so from November 17.
