114 parties to contest HoR polls, 107 election symbols allotted

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Dec. 8: A total of 114 political parties are set to contest the upcoming House of Representatives (HoR) election scheduled for March 5, 2026.

According to the Election Commission, 143 political parties were registered with the Commission. Of them, 114 are taking part in the upcoming poll.

Following the investigation, 13 applications were rejected, while 107 parties have been allotted election symbols.

According to EC spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, out of 143 registered political parties, 117 parties have submitted applications to contest the election. Of them, 13 applications were rejected, while 107 parties have been allotted election symbols.

According to him, 102 parties will contest independently and 12 parties have formed five alliances to contest the election in a single symbol, with each alliance receiving a separate election symbol.

The Commission explained that among the 13 rejected applications, eight parties will contest using a single election symbol each, one party withdrew its application, one failed to pay the required fee, one was rejected due to duplicate submissions by two factions of a party, and one single-party application from two parties was also rejected.

The EC on Sunday allocated election symbols for parties registered between November 17 and 30. 

33 parties register for PR system 

The registration process for parties participating in the proportional representation electoral system in the upcoming House of Representatives election has officially begun. 

On the first day on Sunday, 33 political parties submitted their applications for registration.

According to spokesperson Bhattarai, the applications received will be reviewed, and approvals are expected to be issued by December 12. 

The schedule for the upcoming proportional representation candidate submissions has also been announced. 

Candidates’ preliminary lists will be submitted on December 28-29, and the preliminary list will be published on January 18. 

After reviewing objections and complaints, the final closed list will be published on February 3. 

Under the existing law, the House of Representatives’ 275 members are elected through a mixed system of First-Past-the-Post and proportional representation (PR).

Of them, 165 members are elected directly, while the remaining 110 are selected through proportional representation. For the direct election, candidate nominations are scheduled for January 20, 2026.