Seventeen new political parties apply for registration at Election Commission

A total of 17 new political parties have applied for registration at the Election Commission (EC) targeting the March 5 election of the House of Representatives (HoR).

Among them seven parties seeking registration have applied to the Election Commission after the election date was announced on September 12 where as ten parties had applied for registration before the announcement of the election date, informed Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson of the EC. Two of the new parties seeking registration claimed that they belong to the Gen Z group, according to him.

President Ramchandra Paudel appointed former chief justice Sushila Karki as the caretaker Prime Minister on September 12 after K.P. Oli of CPN-UML was forced to resign after September 8 and 9 violent agitations that claimed 76 lives. President Paudel after dissolving the House of Representatives at the recommendation of PM Karki announced fresh election date for March 5, 2026.

With the new applications, the number of parties registered with the EC has reached 124. EC spokesperson said they are currently reviewing documents submitted by the newly registered parties for formal approval.

The deadline for submitting application to register new political party is fixed at November 16. With the HoR election date approaching, voter registration has also surged across the country, with more than 85,000 new voters registered as of Friday.

The EC stated that an average of 5,000 to 6,000 new voters are registering every day. Voter registration will continue until the November 16 deadline.

Meanwhile, the EC has called applications from national and international organizations interested in observing the general election. Interested organizations must submit their application and required documents to the Election Commission’s e-mail ID no later than November 12, 2025.