KATHMANDU, Nov 23: With 12 more political parties, including the Nepali Congress, registering with the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday, the total number of parties registered for participating in the general election scheduled for March 5 next year has reached 56.
The deadline for registration for political parties with the EC is till November 26.
The total number of political parties registering at the EC for the purpose of participating in the upcoming House of Representatives election has reached 56, as 12 more parties registered themselves with the EC on Sunday, said Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson of the EC.
The total number of parties registered with the EC has reached 132 as of now with the emergence of dozens of new political parties after the announcement of the fresh election date.
However, so far only 56 of them have registered for the upcoming general election purposes. There are three more days for registration of parties willing to participate in the March election, he said.
The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the dissolved House of Representatives, during its central committee meeting on Sunday decided to participate in the March election.
The party made the decision after a month-long debate among the leaders of the party on whether to take part in the election or opt for reinstatement of the dissolved House of Representatives.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) led by deposed prime minister K P Sharma Oli has not yet registered with the Election Commission for participating in the upcoming general election.
The party is currently engaged in organising rallies in different parts of the country demanding reinstatement of the House of Representatives (HoR) and resignation of interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki.
A case registered by about a dozen advocates is pending in the Supreme Court demanding reinstatement of the HoR.
Various leaders of the CPN-UML, including chairman Oli, have been arguing that the government led by Karki is “unconstitutional” and it has no mandate to conduct fresh election.
Meanwhile, 837,094 new voters have been added to the voters list till Friday, the last day for registering new voters.
During the previous general election in 2022, there were 18,168,000 eligible voters in the country.
Many young voters have registered their names in the voters list after the September’s Gen Z movement that overthrew the Oli-led government. Those who are turning 18 by March 4, 2026 are eligible to cast their vote in the upcoming election. (PTI)
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