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The Election Commission distributed certificates to the lawmakers elected to the federal parliament and province assemblies through Proportional Representation (PR) system. Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commission Secretary Gokarna Mani Duwadi distributed the certificates to the lawmakers amidst a program organized at the central office of the Election Commission on Sunday. The poll body distributed certificates to 330 lawmakers—110 of the House of Representatives and 220 of seven province assemblies. Seven political parties have got the recognition of national party in the House of Representatives.    

The political parties represented in the Gandaki provincial assembly have started internal preparations for the formation of a new government in Gandaki Province. The discussion about the next power equation in the government started after the Election Commission submitted the report with the results of the election held on November 20 to the Chief of Gandaki Province, Prithviman Gurung on Sunday. According to the election results, five parties— Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre), Rastriya Prajatanta Party and CPN (Unified Socialist)—will be represented in the Gandaki provincial assembly. In the 60-member provincial assembly, 36 members have been elected through the FPTP system while 24 people have been elected through the proportional representation (PR) system of the election. Gandaki has 27 representatives from Nepali Congress, 22 from UML, eight from Maoist Center, two from Rastriya Prajatantra Party and one from Unified Socialist Party. Even though CPN (Unified Socialist) did not win any seat in the election, Rajiv Gurung (Deepak Manange), an independent candidate elected from Manang, joined the party after the election. A total of 31 members are required to form a majority government but since no single party has a majority number, the equation between the parties will be important. Article 168 of the Constitution provides for the formation of the Provincial Council of Ministers. Section 1 of the said article stipulates that the leader of the parliamentary party with the majority in the provincial assembly will be appointed as the chief minister. Furthermore, Article 168 of the Constitution states that in the absence of a clear majority of any party, a member of the Provincial Assembly who can obtain a majority with the support of two or more parties represented in the Provincial Assembly will be elected the Chief Minister. Hence, the political parties are now engaged in the exercise of government formation following this article. Meanwhile, the parties are also preparing to select their respective leader of the parliamentary party. It is believed that the Nepali Congress and CPN-Maoist Center, which formed an alliance in the election, will jointly form the next government. The Nepali Congress has 27 members, Maoist Centre has eight and Unified Socialist has one, to make it 36 members, which will be a clear majority. Coalition of left parties is another option for the formation of the new government including CPN-UML and Maoist-Centre. The UML with 22 members, Maoist with eight and Unified Socialist with one member can garner 31 members. The support of RPP will also be necessary for a convenient majority. Meanwhile, for a stable government, the option of an equation between the Congress and the UML is also in discussion at the moment.  

Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) of the Chinese embassy in Nepal Wang Shin held a meeting with Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden on Saturday. During the meeting, DCM Wang Shin discussed power sharing with Chairman Lingden. According to a source, Wang Shin expressed his concern about the role of Rastriya Prajatantra Party in the to be formed new government. The source claimed that China wants to expand relations with RPP in the coming days. The RPP, which has long been advocating for monarchy, won 14 seats in the House of Representatives election.  

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane held a meeting at the latter’s residence in Balkot, Bhaktapur on Friday. During the meeting, the duo discussed power sharing mechanisms among other issues. “The two leaders discussed the process of forming a new government among other issues on Friday night,” a Balkot source said. The UML, which emerged as the second largest party from the recently held elections, has been holding consultations with various parties to discuss the process of government formation. Oli and Lamichhane held the meeting as part of the same, the source said. “The ruling coalition has also taken ahead the process to form a new government. As the second largest party, we also deserve to lead the government. That is why, we are intensifying meetings with leaders of various other political parties,” a party leader said. The UML won 78 seats and the Rastriya Swatantra Party secured 20 seats in the November 20 elections.