Kathmandu, March 16: Six parties that gained national status in the March 5 snap parliamentary election have submitted their proportional representation lists to the Election Commission (EC). Each party picked lawmakers from its closed list after the vote count ended.
The six parties are Rastriya Swatantra Party, Nepali Congress, CPN UML, Nepali Communist Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and Shram Shanskriti Party. All crossed the three percent threshold of total valid votes, which is required to qualify for PR seats and obtain national party status. The law also requires a party to win at least one seat under the direct election system to retain that status.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party emerged as the largest force in the election. It secured 125 seats through the direct system and selected 57 lawmakers through the PR system. That brings its total to 182 seats, just two short of the two-thirds majority in the House.
According to party spokesperson Manish Jha, the PR list includes 48 women and 9 men. The candidates represent several social groups. The list includes 17 from the Khas Arya community, 16 from Indigenous groups, 9 Madheshi representatives, 8 Dalits, 4 Tharus, and 3 Muslims.
Party chair Rabi Lamichhane joined the secretariat meeting virtually, citing health issues. Senior leader Balendra Shah, projected as the party’s candidate for prime minister, did not attend the meeting. A party leader said Shah has not yet been inducted into the party secretariat.
The RSP submitted the list to the Election Commission on Sunday. The party has not made the names public yet. Officials say the list will be released only after the commission reviews and approves it.
Other parties also completed the same process. CPN UML and the Shram Shanskriti Party finalised their PR lawmakers on Saturday. UML holds 25 seats in the House, including 16 PR seats. SSP has seven seats, four of them from the PR category.
The Nepali Congress, the second largest party in the House with 38 seats, including 20 PR seats, also forwarded its list on Sunday. The party selected 15 women and five men after a meeting of its executive committee in Sanepa. Party spokesperson Devraj Chalise said the men were chosen from the top rank of their respective clusters.
The Nepali Communist Party submitted nine PR nominees, including five men and four women. The list includes Balawati Sharma, Pramesh Hamal, Prem Bahadur Bayak, Bhim Kumari Budha, Parshuram Tamang, Jog Kumar Barbariya Yadav, Ganesh Bishwakarma, Parbati Bishwakarma, and Nirasha Chaudhary Dagaura.
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party also recommended four PR lawmakers to ensure cluster representation. Bharat Giri and Tahir Ali were nominated from the Khas Arya and Muslim male categories. Khushbu Oli and Saraswati Lama were chosen from the Khas Arya female and Janajati female categories. The party also won one direct seat in Jumla.
Meanwhile, the RSP has not discussed government formation. Leaders say party chief Lamichhane and senior leader Shah will choose ministerial candidates later. Under the constitution, the president appoints as prime minister the leader of the parliamentary party that holds a majority in the House.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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