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The Election Commission (EC) today held a discussion with political parties in view of the National Assembly (NA) elections scheduled for January 25, 2026. The National Assembly is the upper house of the Federal Parliament.

The discussion, held at the EC Office in Kantipath, were attended by Officiating Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, other commissioners, and representatives of nationally recognized political parties represented in the NA, including the Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), and CPN (Maoist Center).

During the meeting, EC Secretary Mahadev Pantha stated that the elections’ schedule will be announced after consultations with political parties on the technical aspects of the elections.

The law mandates that the election of NA members shall be held at least 35 days before the end of the terms of the existing members. 

The tenure of 19 upper house members will end on March 5, 2026. 

Elections will be held for 18 members, who  will be nominated by the President.

The electoral college of the NA will include members of the Provincial Assembly, as well as the chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, mayors, and deputy mayors of local bodies within each province. 

Each Provincial Assembly member will have a voting weightage of 48, while each chairperson, vice-chairperson, mayor, and deputy mayor will have a voting weightage of 18.

Actress Nisha Adhikari received a party registration certificate from the Election Commission of her party ‘Gatishil Lokatantrik Party’and officially started her political journey.

Adhikari is a central member of the party and said that she will dedicate the next decade to the country. Adhikari, who has closely followed the political ups and downs of the country, has also done her undergraduate and postgraduate studies in political science and now is doing her MPhil in ‘conflict and peace.’

She said that she got involved when the ‘Gatishil Loktantrik Party’ was preparing for the 2027 elections and has been meeting with the GenZ team continuously for two months. While working for the party, she plans to pursue film and study too.

The number of political parties registered with the Election Commission has now exceeded 125, and the figure is likely to rise further, as the commission is currently reviewing around two dozen new applications. Following the youth-led protests of Sept 8–9, which toppled the major political parties from power, a new wave of actors, — including businessmen, independent politicians, celebrities, and others, have shown interest in entering politics. Since the announcement of elections for March 5, the EC has received 21 applications seeking party registration.

In the 2022 elections, 116 political parties were registered with the commission, though only 87 of them participated. Many of the new parties believe they can gain public support amid growing disillusionment with the mainstream political forces that have held power, in one way or another, since 1990. Their rhetoric is heavily anti-establishment, resonating with the agenda of the current government led by Sushila Karki, whose primary goal appears to be discrediting the traditional political parties.

The youth who led the September protests have also intensified anti-mainstream sentiment, supported by sections of the apolitical elite and intellectuals who feel sidelined by established parties. As a result, the registration of new political parties poses a direct challenge to the traditional political forces, the very targets of the Sept 8–9 violent protests.

However, most of these new parties lack a charismatic leader capable of mobilizing the masses, like Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair Rabi Lamichhane did in the 2022 national elections. They also lack the grassroots organizational structures needed to reach rural voters,  a limitation that even RSP faced, as its support base remained largely urban.

Meanwhile, traditional parties have failed to reform or connect with the growing youth population. Leadership change within the major political parties appears unlikely before the next elections. While the new political parties may not emerge as a decisive force, they could still attract portions of Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML voters, as RSP did in 2022.

Harka Sampang, mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City and a popular independent figure, has registered his own political party to expand his influence beyond Dharan. Known for his unconventional style, such as personally working as a daily-wage laborer in municipal development projects, Sampang has captured national attention through his humor and wit, often going viral on social media. After the September protests, he claimed that the Prime Minister and Nepal Army had invited him for talks. However, it remains unclear whether the army sought to defuse potential unrest involving his supporters or to recognize him as a political stakeholder, with many believing the former to be more likely.

Another prominent figure, Netra Bikram Chand, the Maoist leader who had long opposed the peace process, constitution drafting, and all elections since 2013, has now registered his Nepal Communist Party to contest the upcoming polls. Senior party leader Khadka Bahadur Bishwakarma confirmed their participation. Once an advocate of urban revolt, Chand’s decision marks a notable shift toward electoral politics.

Business circles, too, are entering the political scene. Birendra Bahadur Basnet, the owner of Buddha Air, has registered a new party called the Gatishil Loktantrik Party, chaired by Dinesh Prasai, a Jawaharlal Nehru University graduate. The party reportedly enjoys backing from Kathmandu’s elite circles. Basnet, who has strong media visibility, is expected to contest the elections.

Similarly, Kul Man Ghising, popularly known as the “light man” for ending Nepal’s 15–16-hour daily load-shedding crisis, has helped form a new political party under the leadership of Anup Kumar Upadhyay, a former energy secretary. Although Ghising has not taken any official position within the party, he has long been associated with its formation efforts. He currently serves as a cabinet minister in Sushila Karki’s government, which is mandated to conduct the March 5 elections.

In Nepal’s first parliamentary elections in 1958, only nine political parties participated. The number began rising rapidly after 1990, and especially after the first Constituent Assembly elections in 2008.

Registering a political party in Nepal is not a complicated process. The Political Parties Act requires the signatures of at least 500 Nepali voters, along with letters of commitment for party membership and certified copies of citizenship or voter identity cards.

Over the past three decades, only two parties — the Maoists in 2008 and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in 2022 — have witnessed sudden and unexpected political success. In the first Constituent Assembly elections, the Maoists emerged as the largest force with a commanding lead over NC and UML. In 2022, RSP won 20 parliamentary seats, while in the same year’s local elections, independent candidate Balendra Shah secured a landslide victory over the NC and UML candidates in Kathmandu.

Now, the political atmosphere once again appears favorable for new entrants. The major parties have been discredited for their failure to curb corruption and ensure good governance. The September 8–9 protests, during which the offices and homes of hundreds of political leaders were torched, have further weakened their standing — creating fertile ground for new political forces to rise.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal hosted a reception today in Kathmandu to celebrate the National Foundation Day of the Republic of Korea.  

Welcoming the guests to the event, H.E. Mr. Taeyoung PARK, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Nepal said that, Korea has worked together with Nepal for sustainable economic development and prosperity.

Ambassador PARK stated that Nepal has huge potential in the "three Hs": Human resources, Hydropower, and rich Heritage and Korea wanted to be the right partner to realize these three H potentials.   

The event was attended by Right Honourable Vice President of Nepal, Ministers of different portfolios, Ambassadors, high-ranking government officials and media persons as well as the representatives of diplomatic missions in Kathmandu, business persons based in Kathmandu and South Korean community representatives.