Elections in Nepal

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There are three types of elections in Nepal: elections to the Federal Parliament, elections to the state assemblies and elections to the local government. Within each of these categories there may be by-elections as well as general elections. Currently three electoral systems are used: parallel voting for House of Representatives and provincial assemblies, Single transferable vote for National Assembly and first past the post for local elections.

Election Commission[]

According to Article 245 of the Constitution of Nepal, an Election Commission is formed of five Election Commissioners, one of whom is Chief Election Commissioner and acts as the chairperson. They serve one term of six years and are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council. The Chief Election Commissioners and other Election Commissioners must hold a bachelor's degree, must not belong to a political party immediately before their appointment, must have attained the age of forty-five and must possess high moral character.[1]

According to Article 246 of the Constitution of Nepal, the Election Commission conducts, supervises, directs and controls the elections for the President, Vice-president, Federal Parliament, State Legislature and local bodies. It prepares a voters' list for the purpose of the election and holds referendums on subjects of national importance as per the Constitution and Federal law.[2]

Legislative elections[]

According to Article 84 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015, following the dissolution of parliament all the Members of Parliament forming the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament of Nepal are elected. The term for the House of Representatives is five years, except when dissolved earlier. When the House of Representatives is dissolved the power of Federal Parliament is carried out by the National Assembly.[1]

Candidates for each constituency are chosen by the political parties or stand as independents. Each constituency elects one MP under the first past the post system of election. Since Nepal uses a parallel voting system, voters cast another ballot to elect MPs through the party-list proportional representation. The current constitution specifies that 165 MPs are elected from the first past the post system and 110 MPs are elected through the party-list proportional representation system. Women should account for one third of total members elected from each party and if one-third percentage are not elected, the party that fails to ensure so shall have to elect one-third of total number as women through the party-list proportional representation.[1]

A party with an overall majority (more seats than all other parties combined) following an election forms the government. If a party has no outright majority, parties can seek to form coalitions.

Year Date Elected members Nominated members Constituencies
1959 Nepalese general election 18 February 1959 109 0 109
1971 Nepalese general election 1971 109 16 109
1981 Nepalese general election 9 May 1981 112 28 112
1986 Nepalese general election 12 May 1986 112 28 112
1991 Nepalese general election 12 May 1991 205 0 205
1994 Nepalese general election 15 November 1994 205 0 205
1999 Nepalese general election 3 & 17 May 1999 205 0 205
2008 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election 10 April 2008 575 26 240
2013 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election 19 November 2013 575 26 240
2017 Nepalese general election 26 November and 7 December 2017 275 0 165

By-elections[3][]

National assembly elections[]

According to Article 86 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015, the members of the National Assembly are elected every six years through an electoral college. In addition to this, one-third of the members are retired every two years for six years by drawing a lottery.[1]

The electoral college consists of members of the provincial assembly and Chairperson/Mayor and Vice Chairperson/Deputy Mayor of the local bodies within the state. Each provincial assembly members vote has a weight of forty eight whereas each Chairperson/Mayor/Vice Chairperson/Deputy Mayor vote has a weight of eighteen. The electoral college elects 56 members to the National Assembly and three members, including one woman, are nominated by the president on the recommendation of the Government of Nepal.[1]

Year Date Elected members Nominated members
1959 Nepalese Senate election 10 July 1959 18 18
1991 Nepalese National Assembly election 26 June 1991 50 10
1993 Nepalese National Assembly election 27 June 1993 17 3
1995 Nepalese National Assembly election 13 November 1995 16 4
1997 Nepalese National Assembly election 27 June 1997 17 3
1999 Nepalese National Assembly election 10 July 1999 17 3
2001 Nepalese National Assembly election 27 June 2001 16 3
2018 Nepalese National Assembly election 7 February 2018[5] 56 3
2020 Nepalese National Assembly election 23 January 2020 18 1

Provincial assembly elections[]

According to Article 176 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015, following the dissolution of the provincial assembly all the members forming the Provincial Assembly are elected. The term for the Provincial Assembly is five years, except when dissolved earlier.[1]

Candidates for each constituency are chosen by the political parties or stand as independents. Each constituency elects one member under the first past the post system of election. Since Nepal uses a parallel voting system, voters cast another ballot to elect members through the party-list proportional representation. The current constitution specifies that sixty percent of the members should be elected from the first past the post system and forty percent through the party-list proportional representation system. Women should account for one third of total members elected from each party and if one-third percentage are not elected, the party that fails to ensure so shall have to elect one-third of total number as women through the party-list proportional representation.[1]

A party with an overall majority (more seats than all other parties combined) following an election forms the government. If a party has no outright majority, parties can seek to form coalitions.

The first provincial assembly elections in Nepal is scheduled to be held on 7 December 2017.

Year Date Elected members Nominated members Constituencies
2017 Nepalese provincial assembly elections 26 November and 7 December 2017 550 0 330

By-election[]

  • 2019 by-elections,[6] 30 November 2019
    • Bhaktapur 1(A), Bagmati Province
    • Baglung 2(B), Gandaki Province
    • Dang 3(B), Province No. 5

Local elections[]

See also: List of cities in Nepal and List of gaupalikas of Nepal

In local elections, six members are elected forming the local administration of Nepal. Elections are held for municipal assemblies in municipalities and for village assemblies in rural municipalities. The assembly comprises a Mayor (Head in the case of village assemblies) and Deputy Mayor (Deputy Head in village assemblies) as well as a ward chairman and members from every ward of the municipality. Two ward members must be female, one of whom must belong to the dalit community or a minority group. All elections are held on the basis of first past the post system.[1] The most recent local elections were held in 2017.[7]

Year[3] Date
1983 local panchayat elections
1987 local panchayat elections
1992 local elections 28 and 31 May 1992
1997 local elections 17 and 26 May 1997
2006 municipal elections 8 February 2006
2017 local elections 14 May, 28 June and 18 September 2017

Referendums[]

There has been one referendum held in Nepal, the 1980 Nepalese governmental system referendum on 2 May 1980.

History[]

The constitution of 1990 had a provision for a bicameral parliament, The House of Representatives (lower house) and the National Assembly (upper house). The 205 MPs in the House of Representatives were elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies. The National Assembly had 60 MPs, 35 elected by the House of Representatives, 15 from Regional Development Areas and 10 appointed by the monarch.

After the Nepalese Civil War, a Constituent Assembly was formed to draft a new constitution. The Constituent Assembly of Nepal consisted on 601 members, 26 of which were appointed by the President of Nepal, 240 of which were elected using first past the post system in single seat constituencies and 335 of which were elected using party-list proportional representation system.[8][9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Constitute". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Welcome to Election Commission of Nepal". www.election.gov.np. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Welcome to Election Commission of Nepal". 12 November 2013. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  4. ^ "CA by-elections conclude peacefully". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. ^ "National Assembly election begins in Nepal - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  6. ^ "By-elections 2019: The Final Results". The Himalayan Times. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Nepal set to hold local elections on June 28". Gulf-Times (in Arabic). 26 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  8. ^ Lokhandwala, Zainab (5 January 2014). "Nepal: The Long Road Ahead - Fair Observer". Fair Observer. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Election to the Members of Constituent Assembly Act, 2064 (2007)". Nepal Law Commission. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.

External links[]

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