Nepal’s Election Commission, the constitutional body established under Article 245 of Nepal’s Constitution to conduct, supervise, and control elections, announced on Friday that it has updated the voter list. The update adds 187,686 new voters since the last House of Representatives election. Concurrently, the commission removed 158,264 names from the list for various reasons, including deaths, duplicate entries, and individuals who renounced or had their citizenship revoked.The updated voter roll now includes 9,769,825 men, 9,321,336 women, and 214 individuals identified as ‘other’. In the previous House of Representatives election, 18,903,689 individuals were eligible to vote.This update covers data collected from Chaitra 22, 2082 (BS) to Bhadra 15, 2083 (BS). During this period, 45,322 names were removed due to death.
Ongoing Voter Registration and Future Election
The Election Commission is continuing voter registration and updates through provincial and district election offices until Kartik 30, 2082 (BS). This ongoing effort is in preparation for the House of Representatives election scheduled for Falgun 21, 2082 (BS).Voters can submit applications online or contact their respective election offices. Nepali citizens who have obtained a National Identity Card number can register their names online using their National Identity Card details. For those not yet integrated into the National Identity Card system, an online form must be completed through the commission’s pre-enrollment system, followed by a visit to the relevant district election office for biometric data submission.
Background and Constitutional Appointments
The path for new voter registration opened after President Ramchandra Paudel issued an ordinance on Bhadra 24, 2082 (BS), amending the Voter List Act, 2073 (BS), based on the government’s recommendation. Previously, Section 4, Sub-section 2 of the Voter List Act, 2073 (BS), prohibited voter registration once an election date had been announced for that specific election.The Election Commission had initiated the voter list update process on Baisakh 1, 2082 (BS), which included details of citizens who turned 18 by the end of Chaitra. From Baisakh 7 to 14, 2082 (BS), the commission invited applications to correct errors in the preliminary list, file complaints, remove duplicate names, and remove names of deceased individuals or those who had renounced their citizenship.Meanwhile, the Constitutional Council has initiated the parliamentary hearing process, including a call for complaints, against the three individuals recommended for Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. Dr. Janaki Kumari Tuladhar currently serves as the acting Chief Election Commissioner of Nepal’s Election Commission since Ashar 27, 2083 (BS).
