With Parties Filing Proportional Representation Candidate Lists, Nepal Moves Toward March 5 Polls

In a significant development, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML), which had resisted participation over security concerns, has now submitted its list.

Kamal Dev Bhattarai

In a significant development, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML), which had resisted participation over security concerns, has now submitted its list.

with parties filing proportional representation candidate lists nepal moves toward march 5 polls

File photo: A man waves Nepal's national flag in Kathmandu during a protest. Photo: PTI.

Kathmandu: Nepal has taken a decisive step toward its March 5 elections, with political parties submitting closed candidate lists under the proportional representation (PR) system. The submission marks the formal start of the electoral process and, barring unforeseen circumstances, positions the nation to emerge from its ongoing political and constitutional crisis.

In a significant development, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML), which had resisted participation over security concerns, has now submitted its list, a move being closely watched by observers nationwide. The elections will employ a mixed electoral system combining first-past-the-post (FPTP) and PR for the House of Representatives.

With this, all the political parties met the Nepal Election Commission's December 28-29 deadline for closed list submissions. The next phase, candidacy registration under FPTP, is scheduled for January 20. Major parties have spent recent days finalising their candidate selections for the 275-member House, where 165 seats will be filled through FPTP and 110 through PR.

The favourable electoral climate follows consultations between Nepali Prime Minister Sushila Karki and leaders of major political parties on Saturday (December 27). This was Karki's first such meeting since assuming power after the September 8-9 protests.

The CPN-UML, led by K.P. Sharma Oli, had initially refused to participate, citing fragile security conditions and proposing instead to form a new government through parliamentary revival. However, other major parties, including the Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Center), consistently supported the March 5 timeline.

Last week, Nepal's President Ram Chandra Poudel urged party leaders to proceed with elections, warning that failure to conduct them on schedule would trigger a political and constitutional crisis. The firm positions taken by both the president and prime minister appear to have compelled the UML to join the process.

Meanwhile, new political parties uniting against the traditional political establishment have also demanded timely elections. These new parties have fielded Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah as their prime ministerial candidate. With parties already engaged in candidate selection, the January 20 FPTP registration phase is expected to proceed smoothly.

This article went live on December twenty-ninth, two thousand twenty five, at thirty-five minutes past eleven at night.

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