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Candidacies were registered across the country on Tuesday for the March 5 elections to the House of Representatives (HoR). 

Political parties and candidates enthusiastically filed their nominations within the scheduled time.

The Election Commission (EC) said that a total of 2,925 candidates have registered to participate in the first-past-the-post (FTPT) election system for the House of Representatives elections.

Among them, 11 percent, that is 336 candidates, are female, and male candidates are 88 percent, that is 2,589. 

Six candidates from the sexually marginalized community have registered their candidacies. They are representing the Samabeshi Samajbadi Party.

According to the details, in 165 constituencies of the country, the most number of candidates, 35 each, have registered in Rupandehi constituencies No. 2 and 3. Similarly, the fewest, eight candidates, have registered in Mustang.

The EC also stated that 85 persons with disabilities and 138 from backward areas have filed their candidacy.

In this election, there are one million 893 thousand 689 voters across the country, who will be voting in 10 thousand 967 polling stations and 23 thousand 112 polling centers on March 5 to elect new members in the Federal Parliament.

The filing of candidacies under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) of the House of Representatives elections was conducted successfully across the country on Tuesday.

As per election schedule, complaints, if any, can be lodged against the candidates fighting the direct elections today. 

The Election Commission would make public the final list of candidates under the direct election (FPTP) after investigating the complaints the next day.

The CPN-UML has filed candidacies for all 165 electoral constituencies across the country for the March 5 elections to the House of Representatives with around 55 percent of its candidates being new faces.

Min Bahadur Shahi, Party's Chief of the Publicity Department, in a press meet organized at party office in Lalitpur on Tuesday, shared that the candidates including party Chairperson KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday registered their nominations in an enthusiastic presence of leaders, cadres and the public.

Shahi said of the total party candidates in fray, 54.54 percent are first-timer contenders.

Among them, there are 50 percent new candidates each in Sudurpaschim and Madhesh Provinces while 53.75 percent candidates contesting from Koshi Province are new, Shahi explained.

Likewise, Karnali Province has the highest portion of the new candidates at 75 percent whereas Lumbini Province has the lowest at 42.30 percent, he explained.

Similarly, new candidates make up 60 percent of the party's nominees in Bagmati Province and 61.11 per cent in Gandaki Province, he added.

The Supreme Court has denied interim order on a writ petition filed on leadership dispute of the Nepali Congress (NC).

A writ petition was filed against Election Commission's recognition of Gagan Thapa as the NC President elected from the special general convention.

A hearing was conducted in the single bench of Justice Sunil Kumar Pokharel on Tuesday. 

The group led by Sher Bahadur Deuba had challenged the Election Commission's decision to confer authenticity on Thapa-led NC, but the court denied interim order sought in favour of Deuba.

The Justice argued that the writ warranted a remedy of constitutional questions associated with politics via final hearing, so interim order was not necessary. 

Justice Pokharel, however, ordered written responses on the case, giving it a prior right of hearing within 15 days of submission of the written responses.  

Shravan Kumar Shrestha had lodged the petition as an authorized representative of NC leaders Deuba and Purna Bahadur Khadka against Thapa's election as NC President, arguing that the special convention and Election Commission's recognition of Thapa were illegal.