Nepal Election Commission adds 168 new polling stations

The Election Commission (EC) has added 168 new polling stations for the March 5 general election, raising the total number of polling stations to 10,967 as it also removed 93 outdated or impractical sites, according to EC officials.

According to EC Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai the nationwide review aimed at improving voter access and correct long-standing issues such as inaccurate station names, outdated addresses, and locations that were difficult for voters access. Some booths were merged or shifted to more suitable sites.

The increase in polling stations comes due to surge in voter numbers. More than 835,000 new voters have been added to the electoral roll.

There were 18,168,000 eligible voters in the country during the last general election in 2022.

Meanwhile, a total of 120 political parties have applied for registration to participate in the general election scheduled for March 5, 2026. November 30 is the last day for registration of parties for the purpose of participating in the upcoming general elections. Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepali Communist Party, Rastriya Swotantra Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Ujyalo Nepal Party are some of the major parties that submitted the application for registration for the purpose of the coming general election. Dozens of new political parties have emerged after the fresh election date was announced following the Gen Z movement that overthrew K.P. Oli led government.

The EC will publish the final list of parties registered for the election purposes in a few days after scrutinizing all the applications.