Third-gender voters in 39 districts, 21 in Saptari

KATHMANDU, April 4: Altogether 143 third-gender people are registered to vote in the upcoming local level elections across the country.

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According to the Election Commission, 143 voters are third-gender among 14053482 registered voters. As per the statistics provided by the election body, the highest number of third-gender voters is in Saptari. There are 39 districts, which at least have one third-gender voters. 

Following Supreme Court's landmark order of December 27, 2007 to scrap all laws that discriminated based on sexual orientation and gender identity and provide identity of third-gender on official documents to the LGBTI, Government of Nepal started providing citizenship and passport maintaining identity of third-gender. Following it, the third-gender people were also registered with a separate sexual identity in voters' list and in census as well.