KATHMANDU: The Election Commission (EC) has stated that it is studying the documents of 15 political parties that have applied for registration.

Out of these, 10 parties submitted their applications before the announcement of the House of Representatives election on March 5, 2026, and five submitted theirs after the announcement.

According to EC spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, while parties can generally apply for registration at any time, the formation of a new government following the Gen Z Movement, the dissolution of the House, and the election announcement have prompted increased youth participation in party registration.

He added that applications meeting all requirements will be approved.

After the election announcement, the Shram Sanskriti Party led by Harka Sampang from Dharan Sub-Metropolitan submitted its registration application on September 23. Similarly, the Nepal Liberal Party, led by Gopilal Neupane, applied on October 19 with the election symbol ‘Coin’.

The Nepal Nagarik Party, led by lawyer Dr. Surendra Bhandari, applied on September 25, while the Gatisheel Loktantrik Party led by Dineshraj Prasai applied on October 16, requesting the election symbol ‘Light’.

The Rastriya Gen Z Party Nepal, led by Hira Prasad Soti, submitted its application on October 19, requesting the symbol ‘Cross Khukri’.

Bhattarai stated that the EC will decide on party names and election symbols, such as ‘Cross Khukri,’ based on existing rules and practices, as none have been officially assigned yet.

Meanwhile, the EC has not approved 10 parties that submitted applications before the election announcement due to incomplete documents.

These include Ujyalo Nepal Party and Rastriya Pariwartan Party.

Once all required documents are received, the EC generally decides on registration within 45 days.

Currently, Nepal has 124 registered parties, following two party splits from the previous 122.

According to the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, and the Political Parties Act, 2016, parties must submit the following for registration: party statute, rules, and manifesto (two copies each), flag, logo, stamp, election symbol, party name, central office address, names and addresses of central committee members and office bearers, sources of party income, and other required details.

The statutes or rules must outline democratic procedures, regular elections for all levels of party offices at least every five years, inclusion of women, Dalits, and marginalized groups in committees, effective disciplinary measures for members, procedures for selecting the central committee through the central convention, and decisions on flags, logos, and election symbols.

Copies of central office bearers’ citizenship certificates and signatures of all members must also be submitted.

For election purposes, the EC will publish a notice allowing old and new parties to reapply.
Parties must have received their registration certificate before reapplying.