Influenced by local level and assembly elections during the latter half of British colonial rule in India, the then Rana ruler held the first ‘Kathmandu Municipality’ election on 29 Jestha 2004 BS. In that election, only men aged 21 years and above were allowed to vote. The voter turnout was 60 to 65 percent.

There was a lack of secrecy in voting. Different colored ballot boxes were kept for each candidate. Similarly, the elections of Bhaktapur and Lalitpur municipalities were also held. The elections were held on the basis of the first past the post system. After the end of the Rana regime, the Kathmandu municipality elections were held in 2010 and 2014, in which democratic forces participated.

After the end of the Rana regime, the then King Tribhuvan had announced the Democratic Interim Statute, 2007, in which the provision that the country's governance would be conducted according to the constitution created by the people's elected representatives was mentioned in the preamble. But in time, this was set aside and the idea of ​​holding parliamentary elections was made by King Mahendra.

Inspired by King Mahendra's ambition to have his direct role and control over the administration of the state, the constitution prepared by the five-member Constitution Drafting Committee formed under the chairmanship of Bhagwati Prasad Singh was promulgated as the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 2015. Based on the same constitution, for the first time in the history of Nepal, the election of members of the lower house of the House of Representatives, consisting of 109 members, was held on the basis of adult suffrage.

The election began on 7 Falgun 2015 and ended on 28 Chaitra (45 days) through various phases. The election results were announced on 28 Baisakh 2016. The election was held on the basis of the first-ever electoral system, in which Rs. 5,000 was fixed for each candidate for election campaigning. Out of the total 42 lakh 46 thousand 468 voters who were over the age of 21, 42.2 percent voted in the election. The only female candidate in the election was Dwarika Devi Thakurani of the Nepali Congress. She was elected from Dadeldhura Constituency No. 66. She is also the first female minister of Nepal.

King Mahendra dissolved the parliament on 1 Poush 2017 and announced a non-party Panchayat system. To prove the legitimacy of the Panchayat system, His Majesty issued the Village Panchayat Act, 2018 and the Election Rules, 2018. Then the election of the Village Panchayat was announced. The election of the Village Assembly was to be held by the people and the election of the Pradhan and Upa Pradhan Pancha was to be held by the members of the Village Assembly. This is called indirect election.

At that time, the total number of voters who had completed the age of 21 was estimated to be 4.8 million. The term of office of the Pradhan and Upa Pradhan Pancha was 2 years. The voting time was from 8 am to 2 pm. The voting was not secret, that is, there was a provision in the act for open voting by raising hands. In 2020, after the repeal of the Village Panchayat Act, 2018 and the promulgation of the Village Panchayat Act, 2020, the method and process of the election began to improve. Secret voting was ensured. To be elected to the Pradhan Panchayat and Upa Pradhan Panchayat, more than 50 percent of the votes had to be obtained.

The amendment to the Act in 2025 fixed the tenure of the Pradhan Panchayat, the Upa Pradhan Panchayat and the Pradhan and Upa Pradhan Panchayat of Nagar Panchayat for 4 years. In the elections of the District Panchayat, the election of the President and Vice President was held from the members of the District Assembly. There was a provision for the Zonal Chief Election Officer. There was also a provision for the elections of the Zonal Panchayat.

Similarly, after the referendum, local body elections were held in 2039 and 2043, in which underground multi-party activists indirectly participated as people's candidates. The most recent local elections of the Panchayat system were held in 2043, in which 55 to 60 percent of voters aged 21 and above voted. In this election, people's candidates won in many places.

In the non-party Panchayat system, elections to the national legislature were also held, which was called the National Panchayat. After the commencement of the Constitution of Nepal, 2019, and the election of the National Panchayat, its first meeting was held on 1 Baisakh 2020 at the Singha Durbar Gallery Hall. This process continued until 2046 BS. Representation in the National Panchayat was arranged from various class and professional organizations. The age limit for being a candidate for the National Panchayat was set at 25 years. The term of office of a member was 4 years.

After the referendum, the election of the members of the National Panchayat was held in 2038 BS on the basis of adult suffrage. There was a provision for nomination by the king through the first-past-the-post system. The last election of the National Panchayat was held in 2043 BS, in which there were 90 million 34 thousand voters and 1 thousand 621 candidates. Of which 73 (4.5 percent) were women. The number of members of the National Panchayat was initially 125 members according to the 2019 BS constitution. Later, this number was increased to 140 members through constitutional amendments.

The national referendum is a historic event in the electoral history of Nepal. There were two referendum issues created by the student movement: a reformed Panchayat system or the establishment of a multi-party system. Voting was held on this issue on 10 Jestha 2036. The total number of voters was 71 lakh 92 thousand 451, of which 48 lakh 13 thousand 486 (66.93 percent) voted. A separate 14-member National Election Commission was formed under the chairmanship of Bhagwati Prasad Singh to hold the referendum. The election was not free, fair and credible. Extensive national resources were misused to prepare a public opinion in favor of the Panchayat system.

The non-party Panchayat system ended after the 2046 movement. An all-party 11-member interim cabinet was formed under the leadership of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 2047 was proclaimed by the then King Birendra. The Election Commission was formed based on Article 103 of the same constitution and the election of 205 members of the House of Representatives on a party basis was held on 29 Baisakh 2048. Due to political reasons, mid-term elections were held again on 29 Kartik 2051. After that, parliamentary elections were held in two phases in 2056 as regular elections on 20 Baisakh and 3 Jestha. These elections were held on the basis of the first-past-the-post electoral system. After the multi-party system, party participation in elections gradually increased. The number of parties participating in the election of members of the House of Representatives in 2048 was 20, which increased to 39 in 2056. However, the number of nationally recognized parties was 5, 4 and 6 in 2048, 2051 and 2056 respectively. The number of candidates participating in the elections also increased in each election.

The voting percentage in all three elections for members of the House of Representatives was around 65.79%. Voter turnout was not encouraging as the Election Commission had not made any formal arrangements for elections and voter education. The number of female candidates had continuously increased. In the elections for members of the House of Representatives in 2048, 2051 and 2056, women represented 7, 7, and 12 people respectively.

There was a lack of complete peace and security in all three elections. There were many incidents such as commotion, beatings, gun firing, and booth capture at many polling stations. Parties and candidates did not follow the election code of conduct. Violations of the election expenditure limit were widespread. As a result, re-voting was held at 51 places in 2048. Re-voting was held at 86 in 2051 and 101 polling stations in 2056. Since there was no provision for voter identification cards to vote in these elections, it was found that one person voted up to ten times.

Based on the 2047 constitution, the elections to Village Development Committees, Municipalities and District Development Committees were held in 2049 and 2054 on the basis of the majority electoral system. Citizens who had reached the age of 18 were entitled to vote in those elections. In the 2049 elections, a total of 12 million voters were entitled to vote in 3995 Village Development Committees and 36 municipalities. Five political parties participated in these elections. In the 2054 elections, 3913 VDCs and 58 municipalities were established by changing the previous structure of VDCs and municipalities.

The government was not able to make complete arrangements for peace and security in the local body elections. Violent incidents occurred at various polling stations across the country. In the first phase of the VDC elections in 2054, 1 person each died in Bajura and Kalikot districts. In the second phase, 3 people were killed and hundreds were injured due to internal conflicts in Bara, Siraha, and Dhanusha districts.

The list of voters who voted directly in all those elections was flawed. There was no solid basis for compiling the voter list. The names of children, deceased, and married women were constantly appearing in the voter list. The names of even foreign citizens were included in the voter list. There was a widespread trend among village elders to include the names of voters in their party and remove or not include the names of opponents. Thus, there were many types of inaccuracies in the voter list. No new methods or technologies were used in compiling the voter list.

The 2064 Constituent Assembly election was the historic desire of the people. This election was to be held in Jestha 2064 as per the peace agreement signed on 4 Mangsir 2063. However, due to the lack of election laws and lack of understanding and coordination among political parties, the date was postponed twice and finally held on 28 Chaitra 2064. The election was held under the supervision of the United Nations mission amidst numerous obstacles, intimidation, vandalism, arson, violent protests, bandhs, and strikes.

There were 17.611 million 832 voters in this election, 61.7 percent of whom participated in the direct election and 63.3 percent in the proportional election. The Madhesh movement made the election more challenging. Although more than a hundred small and big militant groups in the country opposed the election, 74 parties were registered for the election. On the day of the election, voting in 68 polling stations under 18 constituencies in 11 districts was postponed because it could not be held freely and fairly. Voting in 38 polling stations in 10 constituencies in 7 districts was also canceled.

The main feature of the first Constituent Assembly election was that 335 seats were allocated under a mixed electoral system based on the population of classes and communities that have been deprived for centuries in political, social, economic, religious, and gender terms, under which 31.2 percent were from Madhesi, 13 percent from Dalits, 37.8 percent from oppressed indigenous peoples, 4 percent from backward areas, and 30.2 percent from others (Khas, Arya, Dashnami, Thakuri). 50 percent representation of women was ensured from all these groups. The percentage of all these groups is 116.2 percent, which is not reasonable.

A Constituent Assembly was formed with 601 members, including 240 members and 26 nominated by the Council of Ministers, under the first-come, first-served system. The public complained about nepotism, nepotism, and financial manipulation by the top leaders of political parties in the selection of candidates. About 3 billion rupees were spent on the first Constituent Assembly election. However, after the constitution could not be drafted, the Constituent Assembly elections were held for the second time on 4 Mangsir 2070 at a cost of 5 billion. In which there were 12.147 million voters. 78.7 percent participated in the direct election and 79.8 percent in the proportional election. A new constitution was promulgated from this Constituent Assembly on 3 Asoj 2072.

Despite the promulgation of the new constitution, there was political instability in the country. The Election Commission succeeded in holding local elections on 31 Baisakh 2074 amidst various difficulties, in which Madhesi parties did not participate. Voting was held in the second phase on 14 Asaj and the third phase on 2 Asoj to ensure their participation. The public participation in these local elections was encouraging, 74 percent voted. Soon after, elections to the Provincial Assembly and the House of Representatives were also held.

At that time, the Election Commission had received the Act and the constituency delimitation report on 15 Bhadra 2074. Thus, instead of the 120-day election period, the elections for the members of the House of Representatives and the Provincial Assembly were held simultaneously in two phases, on 10 and 21 Mangs, in 80 days. This established a free, free and credible election in the electoral history of Nepal. In addition, the simultaneous elections for the members of the House of Representatives and the Provincial Assembly were exemplary in themselves.

In the meantime, there was a dispute over the election of the members of the National Assembly. The Legislative Assembly did not pass the Act on the Election of Members of the National Assembly. The proposed bill was sent to the President. Due to the delay of almost two months in issuing the ordinance due to the power interests of the parties, the results of the election of the members of the House of Representatives were late in submitting to the President due to the law. The Election Commission had to endure great pressure, harassment and criticism. Despite the delay, the Election Commission, following the law, conducted the National Assembly election and submitted the results of the Federal Parliament to the President. After that, the President and Vice President were elected. Thus, amidst political disputes, technical and administrative complications and under time pressure, the elections for local level, representatives and provincial assembly members, national assembly members, president and vice president were completed in an excellent manner within 11 months in three phases.

Nepal has a long practice and experience of local and national legislative elections. Its study and analysis should be relative, not absolute. In all elections, the time, place and circumstances are different. The method, process and system used in elections also differ based on the will of the people. In the same electoral system, the voting process differs due to time difference. For example, the first general election was held on the basis of the first-past-the-post system, but the candidates had separate ballot boxes. In the latter half of the Panchayat system, the majority and minority were separated by raising their hands in local elections. In the elections of multi-party democracy since 2048, complete secrecy of voting was adopted.

The first past the post electoral system is a very popular ancient electoral system. It is very difficult to guarantee free and fair elections in this system. Because this system uses maximum use of fraud, force, and money. In a developing representative democracy like Nepal, the credibility of this system has been weakened. The constitution makers seem to be more fascinated by this system. But at the public level, there is a greater demand for a fully proportional electoral system instead of this system and it is also necessary. From a legislative perspective, from the perspective of election expenses, and from the perspective of representation, the use of a proportional electoral system has become inevitable.