72 candidates withdrew their candidacies, 9 were canceled.
What you should know
Of those who registered their nominations for the House of Representatives elections, 72 have withdrawn their candidacies. The candidacies of 9 candidates whose documents were not received during the investigation by the Office of the Returning Officer and the Office of the Election Commissioner have been canceled.
According to the Election Commission, out of 3,487 who registered their nominations, the final number of candidates after withdrawal and cancellation of candidatures has reached 3,406. Of these, 3,017 are men, 388 are women and 1 is from other groups. The final number of candidates includes 1,056 in the 25-40 age group, 1,925 in the 41-60 age group and 425 above 61 years of age.
As per the election program, the Election Officer's Office published the final list of candidates on Friday after the scrutiny of the election schedule, which was from 10 am to 3 pm on Wednesday, immediately after the deadline for protesting and withdrawing names.
Most of the withdrawn candidates are independent candidates. Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has also withdrawn his candidacy. He had filed his candidacy in Gorkha-2 from the Progressive Democratic Party (Pralopa). It has been found that other candidates have also withdrawn from the same party. Pralopa has withdrawn its candidacy from both constituencies of Gorkha. Gopalbabu Shrestha of Pralopa in Gorkha-1 has also withdrawn his candidacy.
Two candidates have withdrawn their names from two constituencies in Parsa. Rajeshwor Sah Teli, who filed an independent candidacy from Constituency No. 2, and Firoz Ansari of the People's Force Party from Constituency No. 4, have withdrawn their candidacy, the commission has informed.
Teli was elected as a member of the Madhesh Provincial Assembly from the Nepali Congress in the 2074 elections. With this, there are now 107 candidates in all four constituencies of Parsa. Of these, 64 are party candidates and 43 are independent candidates. Out of 30 candidates in Constituency-1, 10 are independent. Out of 30 candidates in Constituency-2, 13 are independent. Out of 23 candidates in Constituency-3, 9 are independent. Out of 23 candidates in Constituency-4, 11 are independent.
Three candidates have withdrawn their candidacy from both constituencies of Bardiya. One in Constituency-1 and two in Constituency-2 have withdrawn, the Election Commission has informed. Chief Election Officer Manoj Shrestha said that Pralopa's Raju Ranabhat from Zone-1 is among those who have withdrawn their candidacies. 21 candidates are contesting in this zone. Similarly, two candidates have withdrawn their candidacies in Zone-2. Assistant Polling Officer Bishnu Chandra Nepali said that Pralopa's Netra Acharya and independent candidate Nutun Kumar Chaudhary have withdrawn their candidacies. He informed that the candidacy of Aam Janata Party's Rameshwar Chaudhary was rejected because he has a loan-related case on his blacklist. Now, 21 candidates will contest in Zone-1. 3 of them are independent and 3 are women. 15 candidates have been nominated in Zone-2. There will be an electoral contest between 15 people, including two women. Two candidates who filed their candidacies from Dang-3 for the House of Representatives election have withdrawn.
Here too, Pralopa's Ghanshyam Dangi and independent candidate Gopal Wali withdrew their candidacies on Friday. Out of 25 people who had registered their nominations from Dang-3, 23 candidates have now been confirmed. With this, 62 candidates, including 43 political parties and 19 independents, have filed their candidacies in the three areas of Dang, informed Gehendra Kunwar, Information Officer of the Provincial Election Office, Ghorahi.
Two candidates who had filed their candidacies in Salyan have withdrawn their candidacies. Santosh Kumar Rai, a resident of Sharda-3, who became Pralopa's candidate, and Manasinge Kami of the Aam Janata Party, went to the main election office on Friday and withdrew their candidacies. Pralopa's Rai, who withdrew his candidacy, said that he would support UML candidate Gulab Jung Shah. He also announced in a statement that he has returned to his old party, UML.
