2026 Nepalese general election

2026 Nepalese general election

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All 275 seats in the House of Representatives 138 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba K. P. Sharma Oli Pushpa Kamal Dahal Party Congress CPN (UML) Maoist Centre Last election 25.71%, 89 seats 26.95%, 78 seats 11.13%, 32 seats Seats before 88 78 32   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Rabi Lamichhane Rajendra Lingden Madhav Kumar Nepal Party RSP RPP Unified Socialist Last election 10.70%, 20 seats 5.58%, 14 seats 2.83%, 10 seats Seats before 21 14 10
Prime Minister before election Sushila Karki (interim) Independent Elected Prime Minister TBD

Early general elections are expected to be held in Nepal on 5 March 2026 to elect the 275 members of the House of Representatives as announced on 12 September 2025 by the President of Nepal, on the recommendation of Government of Nepal. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

There remains two ballots in the election: one to elect 165 members from single-member constituencies via FPTP, and the other to elect the remaining 110 members from a single nation-wide constituency via party-list proportional representation, as mentioned in the Constitution of Nepal. ^[4]

Background

Further information: 2025 Nepalese Gen Z protests

On 8 September 2025, large-scale protests and demonstrations took place across Nepal, predominantly organized by students and young citizens. ^[5] On 12 September 2025, the Federal Parliament of Nepal was dissolved and Sushila Karki was sworn in as interim Prime Minister. ^{[6] [7]} President Ram Chandra Poudel announced that elections would be held on 5 March 2026. ^[8] The elections were scheduled to have taken place any time before November 2027.

Electoral system

The 275 members of the legislature are elected by two methods; 165 are elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 seats are elected by closed list proportional representation from a single nationwide constituency. ^[9] Voters receive separate ballot papers for the two methods. A party or electoral alliance has to pass the election threshold of 3% of the overall valid vote to be allocated a seat in the proportional vote. ^[10] Nepal uses the Webster method to allocate proportional seats. ^[11]

Voting is limited to Nepali citizens aged 18 or over of sound mind and not having been declared ineligible under federal election fraud and punishment laws. ^[12]

Eligibility to vote

To vote in the general election, one must be: ^[12]

• on the electoral roll
• aged 18 or over on final date of registration of voter id
• a citizen of Nepal
• of sound mind
• not ineligible as per federal election fraud and punishment laws

Pre-election arrangements

Party		Ideology	2022 results		At dissolution
			Votes (%)	Seats
	Nepali Congress	Social democracy Third Way	23.19	89 / 275	88 / 275
	CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)	Marxism–Leninism People's Multiparty Democracy	30.83	78 / 275	79 / 275
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	Marxism–Leninism–Maoism–Prachanda Path	9.37	32 / 275	32 / 275
	Rastriya Swatantra Party	Populism Economic liberalism	7.77	20 / 275	21 / 275
	Rastriya Prajatantra Party	Constitutional monarchism Economic liberalism Hindu nationalism	5.24	14 / 275	13 / 275
	CPN (Unified Socialist)	Marxism–Leninism People's Multiparty Democracy	4.16	10 / 275	10 / 275
	People's Socialist Party	Democratic socialism Secularism	New party		7 / 275
	Janamat Party	Social democracy Regionalism Madheshi rights	2.79	6 / 275	6 / 275
	People's Socialist Party, Nepal	Democratic socialism Secularism Regionalism	3.62	12 / 275	5 / 275
	Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal	Social democracy Madheshi rights	1.62	4 / 275	4 / 275
	Nagrik Unmukti Party	Regionalism Social democracy Tharu minority interests	1.64	3 / 275	4 / 275
	Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party	Marxism–Leninism	0.68	1 / 275	1 / 275
	Rastriya Janamorcha	Anti-federalism Communism Marxism–Leninism	0.55	1 / 275	1 / 275
	Aam Janata Party	Marxism–Leninism–Maoism	New party		1 / 275
	Independent	—	—	4 / 275	2 / 275

Electoral alliance and parties

Major parties

Party		Symbol	Leader	Leader's Seat	Seats contested	Male candidates	Female candidates
	Nepali Congress		Sher Bahdur Deuba	Dadeldhura 1
	CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)		KP Sharma Oli	Jhapa 5
	CPN (Maoist Centre)		Pushpa Kamal Dahal	Gorkha 2
	Rastriya Swatantra Party		Rabi Lamichhane	Chitwan 2
	Rastriya Prajatantra Party		Rajendra Prasad Lingden	Jhapa 3
	CPN (Unified Socialist)		Madhav Kumar Nepal	Rautahat 1

Minor parties

Party		Symbol	Leader	Leader's Seat	Seats contested	Male candidates	Female candidates
	People's Socialist Party		Ashok Rai	Sunsari 1
	Janamat Party		C. K. Raut	Saptari 2
	People's Socialist Party, Nepal		Upendra Yadav	Bara 2
	Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal		Mahantha Thakur	Mahottari 3
	Nagrik Unmukti Party		Ranjeeta Shrestha	Kailali 1

References

1. "प्रतिनिधिसभा विघटन, फागुन २१ गते चुनाव घोषणा" [Dissolution of the House of Representatives, elections announced for Falgun 21]. Online Khabar (in Nepali). Retrieved 2025-09-12.
2. "प्रतिनिधिसभा विघटन, फागुन २१ गते चुनाव घोषणा" [Dissolution of the House of Representatives, elections announced for Falgun 21]. Annapurna Post (in Nepali). Retrieved 2025-09-12.
3. "प्रधानमन्त्री सुशीला कार्कीले गरिन् संसद् विघटनको सिफारिस, फागुन २१ गते प्रतिनिधि सभाको निर्वाचन" [Prime Minister Sushila Karki recommends dissolution of Parliament, House of Representatives elections on Falgun 21]. eKantipur (in Nepali). Retrieved 2025-09-12.
4. "Parties' Mission 84 Gimmick Or Genuine Campaign?". The Rising Nepal . 5 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
5. Daha, Phanindra; Atkinson, Emily; Khan, Iftikhar (2025-09-10). "Why GenZ has taken over the streets in Nepal". BBC. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
6. "Sushila Karki appointed Prime Minister under Article 61, becomes Nepal's first female head of government". Online Khabar. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
7. Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (12 September 2025). "Nepal appoints its first female PM after historic week of deadly protests". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 12 September 2025.
8. Sharma, Gopal; Ahmed, Aftab (2025-09-13). "Nepal sets March elections after naming interim prime minister". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
9. Article 84 Constitution of Nepal
10. Kafle, Narayn (5 September 2017). "स‌ंसद् र प्रदेशको निर्वाचन विधेयक पारित" [Parliament and provincial election bills passed]. Gorkhapatra (in Nepali). Archived from the original on 2017-09-06. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
11. प्रतिनिधि सभा सदस्य निर्वाचन ऐन, २०७४ [House of Representatives Member Election Act, 2017](PDF) (Act, Schedule 2) (in Nepali). Legislature Parliament of Nepal. 7 September 2017. p. 42.
12. Electoral Roll Act, 2017 (PDF) (Act 23, section 6 & 23) (in Nepali). 2 February 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.