Elections in Nepal

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]

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.

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]

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.

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.[4]

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.[5][6]

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system
• Electoral roll
• Election commission

• Election Commission
• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• The Carter Center information on Nepal