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3w ago

Nepal Enters Vote Silence as PM Urges Calm for March 5 Parliamentary Poll

Analysts expect a hung parliament under the country’s mixed electoral system.

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FILE - Staff members prepare for the upcoming general election scheduled for March 5, at the Election Commission in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
FILE - A man carries ballot boxes to load onto a vehicle for delivery to various regions across the country ahead of the March 5 general election, at election commission in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
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Overview

  • Nearly 19 million registered voters will choose 275 lower-house members, with 165 elected by first-past-the-post and 110 by proportional representation from more than 3,400 candidates, roughly 30% of whom are under 40.
  • The contest underscores a generational clash as former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli faces 35-year-old Balendra “Balen” Shah in Jhapa-5, while 49-year-old Gagan Thapa leads the Nepali Congress on a reform message.
  • This is the first national vote since the September 2025 Gen Z protests that toppled the government, with official accounts reporting at least 77 deaths and government estimates citing over NPR 84 billion in damage.
  • Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, a former chief justice, has pledged a clean, fair, and fearless election, urged high turnout, called for peace, and warned against misinformation as the silence period takes effect.
  • Results for the 165 directly elected seats are expected within days, with party-list allocations to follow, and observers say post-vote coalition bargaining is likely given the fragmented field.