KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 30
Out of the 64 political parties that submitted closed lists under the proportional representation (PR) system for the upcoming House of Representatives elections, 22 parties have filed candidacies for all 110 seats.
According to the closed lists submitted to the Election Commission on December 28 and 29, only 22 parties nominated a full slate of 110 candidates under the PR system. Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said that although 64 parties submitted PR lists, 58 parties registered candidacies corresponding to 58 election symbols.
The political parties fielding candidates for all 110 PR seats include the Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Rastriya Swatantra Party, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, Rastriya Janamorcha, Mongol National Organization, Democratic Socialist Party, CPN (ML), Labour Culture Party, Federal Democratic National Forum, Nepal Sadbhavana Party, Janamat Party, Miteri Party Nepal, and Nepal Communist Party (United).
Similarly, the Nepali Janata Dal, National Democratic Party, Nepal Communist Party (Maoist), Progressive Democratic Party, and some other parties submitted closed lists for all 110 seats by forming joint electoral alliances and combining their lists.
In the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5, political parties have filed candidacies in accordance with the proportional representation quotas of inclusive groups as stipulated by the 2021 national census. Meanwhile, as several parties reached agreements on unity and cooperation, the process of submitting closed lists continued late into the night.
Out of the 93 political parties that had applied to the Commission to contest elections under the proportional representation system, only 64 ultimately submitted their candidacies.
(With inputs from Rastriya Samachar Samiti)
