KATHMANDU, Dec 29: The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday formally called on political parties to submit their closed lists of candidates under the proportional representation (PR) system for the upcoming House of Representatives election, but the majority of parties have yet to file their final lists.
According to EC Information Officer Suman Ghimire, only three political parties had submitted their PR candidate lists—covering a total of 143 candidates—by late Sunday evening. The parties included the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party and the Rastriya Janamorcha.
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A total of 100 political parties have registered to participate in the PR election. Only registered parties are eligible to submit closed lists, which the EC will accept on Sunday and Monday. However, neither major established parties nor new political forces had submitted their lists by late Sunday.
The EC expressed confidence that most parties would file their lists by Monday, the final day for submission, noting that last-minute filings have been common in past elections. Meanwhile, the two largest parties—Nepali Congress and CPN-UML—have decided not to include individuals who were previously elected under the PR system. Both parties have also instructed their internal committees not to recommend the names of incumbent PR lawmakers.
The EC will accept PR closed lists until 6:00 pm on Monday. “Lists submitted after the deadline will not be accepted,” Ghimire said, adding that parties failing to submit PR lists will have their election symbols removed from the PR section of the ballot paper. The Commission will begin validating the closed lists submitted on December 28 and 29 from January 4.
Nepal adopted a mixed electoral system after the 2008 Constituent Assembly election, introducing proportional representation alongside the first-past-the-post system. The PR mechanism was also used in the 2013 Constituent Assembly election and the parliamentary elections of 2017 and 2022.
The PR system has faced criticism for allowing the same individuals to repeatedly benefit under the banner of social inclusion, limiting opportunities for new and genuinely marginalized candidates. Party leaders say the latest decisions are aimed at addressing those concerns.
