Kathmandu, February 26:

Only 11 per cent of the total 2,191 candidates who filed their nomination yesterday in 240 constituencies under the first-past-the-post election to constituent assembly were females.

Spokesman for the Election Commission Laxman Bhattarai said the contenders include 1,947 men (1,443 from parties and 464 independent) and a mere 244 female (215 from the political parties and 29 independent). The figure includes the nominations filed by fax, but the EC has not compiled a separate data for the same.

Considering the security situation, the EC had on Sunday decided to allow registration of nomination for the direct election by fax. “We have not received information, in particular, about the candidates filing their nominations by fax from the districts,” an EC official told this daily.

While 33 candidates filed their nominations in Kathmandu constituency no 7, the highest number of contenders in a constituency, only three candidates representing the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist filed papers in each of the three constituencies — Manang, Mustang and Saptari-6.

The EC has said it

would publish a list of candidates on March 2 — the day the EC would distribute election symbols to the political parties.

The break-up

• Total number of candidates — 2,191

• Independent candidates - 493

• Male candidates — 1,947

• Female candidates — 244

• Political parties contesting the April 10 direct polls — 33