As of Wednesday, 106 parties have applied to the Election Commission to participate in the elections. Party registration has been extended by 4 days. A dozen and a half new parties are also entering the elections.
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All 14 parties in the dissolved House of Representatives appear ready to contest the upcoming general election. All 14 parties have applied for party registration with the Election Commission for the purpose of the House of Representatives election to be held on 21 Falgun. 17 new parties have also submitted applications to the Commission.
The number of political parties that have applied for party registration for the purpose of participating in the House of Representatives elections has reached 106 as of Wednesday. The deadline for party registration is until Sunday. The commission has extended the deadline for submitting party registration applications to participate in the elections by four days from the previous period of 1-10 Mangsir.
There are still 18 new political parties in the registration process with the commission. The commission has stated that the party registration period has been extended for election purposes so that these parties can register with the commission and participate in the elections. Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson of the commission, informed that there has been a surge in the number of service recipients in the process of registering parties for the purpose of the election of members of the House of Representatives and requests have been received from various political parties and stakeholders for an extension of the deadline.
‘Some new parties are in the final process of registration.’ The pressure for party registration also increased at the last minute,' said spokesperson Bhattarai, 'so that no one complains that they did not get a chance to participate in the democratic process and so that everyone gets an opportunity.' The number of political parties listed with the commission has reached 137.
Both the UML, which has been advocating for the restoration of the House of Representatives, and the RPP, which has been holding the view that the country will not be able to get out of the elections as it is, have applied for party registration on Tuesday with the aim of participating in the elections.
The Congress, the largest party in the dissolved House of Representatives, decided to participate in the elections on Saturday and applied for party registration with the commission the next day. After that, all eyes were on the UML, which made the restoration of the House of Representatives an issue. But on Tuesday, UML, dispelling doubts, applied for party registration for the purpose of the House of Representatives elections.
UML's Election Department Chief Neeraj Acharya says that UML will not contest the elections. 'Our main issue is the restoration of the parliament.' Only that can provide a way out,' he said, 'But, at the same time, the legal party UML will naturally participate in the legal and constitutional process conducted by the Election Commission.' He accused the government of not wanting to hold elections. He said that the government has not paid any attention to creating an electoral environment.
RPP spokesperson Mohan Kumar Shrestha said that despite being clear that the country's exit from the status quo is not possible, they have registered the party for election purposes as a responsible democratic party. He said that it is not desirable for a democratic party to separate from the democratic process.
The Nepali Communist Party (formed after the unification of the then Maoist and Unified Socialist parties), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Jaspa, Jaspa Nepal, Janamat, Lospa, Nagarik Unmukti, Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party, Rastriya Janamorcha and Aam Janata Party, which are in the dissolved House of Representatives, have already submitted applications for party registration.
There is no room for doubt that the election will be held as the government, commission, political parties, youth generation and voters all appear ready: Ram Prasad Bhandari, Acting Chief Election Commissioner Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said that the number of political parties interested in competing in the House of Representatives elections is encouraging. ‘Registering a party for election purposes means being ready to compete in the election process,’ he said, ‘The enthusiastic participation of political parties has shown that elections should/should be held.’
Bhandari said that there is no room for doubt that the government, commission, political parties, youth generation and voters all appear ready. He mentioned that forces that tried to boycott or disrupt the elections in the past have also come to the election process this time.
Netra Bikram Chand’s party, which had been boycotting the elections earlier, has already applied to the commission on Monday to participate in the elections. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) under Chand’s leadership has already been registered with the commission.
Article 271 of the Constitution and Section 48 of the Political Parties Act, 2073 BS stipulate that parties registered with the Commission must re-register their parties to participate in the relevant elections. Accordingly, the Commission is registering parties for the February 21 election.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Bhandari informed that the names will be published after examining the documents submitted by the parties that have applied for registration for the election. Parties that have completed the process prescribed by law for registration will be allowed to participate in the upcoming elections.
The parties that have applied for registration to participate in the elections since the announcement of the House of Representatives elections include the Janadesh Party Nepal led by Advocate Raman Kumar Karna, the Shram Sanskriti Party led by Dharan Mayor Harkaraj Rai, and the Ujjaya Nepal Party led by former Secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyay, who also has the support of Energy Minister Kulman Ghising.
The Dynamic Democratic Party led by Dinesh Raj Prasai, which includes businessman Birendra Bahadur Shrestha, the National Energetic Party led by former MP Yogendra Mandal, the Citizen Supreme Party led by Ratna Prasad Shrestha, the Sovereign Citizen Party led by Ganesh Kumar Mandal, the Swabhiman Party led by Satyawan Kumar Singh, the Citizen Liberation Party led by Kabir Sob, whose patron is Resham Chaudhary, and the National Change Party led by Rajesh Pratel have submitted applications for registration for election purposes.
The Citizen Service Party led by Shreya KC, the Progressive Citizen Party led by Sabin Sigdel, the Rashtra Nirman Dal Nepal led by Akbar Khan, and the National Janmat Party formed by Riyaz Ahmed Shesh have also submitted applications for party registration for election purposes. Other new parties that have submitted applications include Hamro Party Nepal led by activist Khagendra Sunuwar, who advocates for Dalit rights, and the Samunnat Nepal Party formed under the leadership of former Inspector General of Police Sarbendra Khanal.
Meanwhile, Ujjaya Nepal Party and Hamro Party Nepal have agreed to participate in the elections with a single election symbol. Both parties have jointly applied for party registration with the commission. Former Minister of State for Home Affairs Md. Rizwan-led Nepal Federal Socialist Party is preparing to contest under a single election symbol along with Bahujan Ekta Party Nepal and Nepal Janajagruti Party. Rajendra Mahato-led Rastriya Mukti Party Nepal, Ashok Kumar Rai-led Janata Samajwadi Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party are also planning to use a single election symbol.
