KATHMANDU, Dec 23: Ahead of the upcoming House of Representatives (HoR) election, 1.016 million new voters have been added to the electoral roll. According to Election Commission (EC) Spokesperson Narayan Bhattarai, officials are currently registering new voters and removing duplicate entries.
“Names of new voters are being registered and duplicates are being deleted. The final list may show slightly fewer voters,” Bhattarai said. The final voter list is expected to be published on December 30. Nepali citizens born on or before March 3, 2008, will be eligible to vote. In the 2022 general election, there were 18 million voters.
The EC noted that online registration has increased after linking voter registration with national ID details. The deadline for voter registration was initially November 16, with an additional week later granted.
21,010 new voters added in Siraha
No need to buy new ballot boxes or paper
This election will not require the purchase of new ballot boxes or paper, as the EC has sufficient stock. “We need 75,000 ballot boxes, which we already have, so no new procurement is necessary,” Bhattarai said. He added that 51 types of election materials are required, of which 37 types will be provided by the district election offices. Printing of ballot papers will begin in the last week of January.
114 parties to contest
A total of 114 political parties have registered to participate in the upcoming HoR election. The EC approved their registration, while 13 parties’ applications were rejected for various reasons. Currently, 143 parties are registered with the EC, but only 114 will contest the election.
The EC has allocated 107 election symbols for the contest. 102 parties will compete using separate symbols. Parties were allowed to choose their symbols at the time of registration, with alternatives provided only in cases of duplicate claims. Symbols previously used by older parties were reassigned.
