As eight more political parties got registered with the Election Commission on Monday, the total number of political parties registered for the purpose of participating in the March 5 General Election has reached 64. However, the deadline for registration for political parties at the EC for the purpose of March 5 election lasts till November 26, according to the Election Commission sources.
Sixteen parties including the largest Nepali Congress, the largest party in the dissolved House of Representation registered themselves with the EC with the purpose of participating in the upcoming general elections.
The total number of political parties registering at the EC for the purpose of participating in the upcoming House of Representatives election has reached 64, as eight more parties registered themselves with the EC on Monday, informed Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson of the EC.
The total number of parties registered at 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 64 of them have registered for the upcoming general election purposes. There are two more days for registration of parties willing to participate in the March election.
The decision made by the Nepali Congress to participate in the March 5 election has put moral pressure on CPN-UML led by K.P. Sharma Oli, which is trying to run away from the general election.
The Nepali Congress has 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.
Oli’s CPN-UML has not yet registered with the Election Commission for participating in the upcoming general election. The party is currently engaged in organizing rallies in different parts of the country demanding reinstate of the House of Representatives and resignation of Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki. Now as 64 political parties including Nepali Congress and Nepali Communist Party registering their names with the EC, UML has been politically cornered. Various leaders of the 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 K.P. Oli led government. Those who completes the age of 18 by March 4, 2026 are eligible for casting their votes in the upcoming elections.
