Kathmandu — The Election Commission has granted permission to 40 organizations, including four international observer groups, to monitor the House of Representatives elections scheduled for February 21.
Election Commission Joint Secretary and spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said that approval has been given to 36 national and four international organizations to observe the elections of 2082 BS.
According to the Commission, permission was granted to nine organizations on Wednesday alone. These include the Poor and Dalit Upliftment Service Committee Dolpa, Janasarokar Manch Nepal, Sustainable Rural Development Center, NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Maswasit Nepal, Nepal Public Administration Association, and Nepal Law Society. With these approvals, the total number of licensed observer organizations has reached 40.
The Election Commission provides orientation programs to approved national observer organizations and issues official identity cards to observers deployed by them during the election.
Meanwhile, the Commission has completed the process of receiving closed lists of proportional representation candidates from political parties, as per the election schedule. Verification and scrutiny of these lists are currently underway.
Bhattarai said that if any adjustments are required in the inclusion clusters, the Commission will formally write to the concerned political parties. Parties will be given time until December 10 to make necessary corrections.
Candidates wishing to withdraw their names from the closed list will also have time until December 10. In the event of withdrawal, the Commission will notify the respective party on December 11. Political parties must then nominate replacement candidates from the same group and submit the updated list by December 30.
According to the Commission’s schedule, the shortlist of proportional candidates will be published, followed by a period for filing objections. After the shortlist is made public on Magh 4, claims and objections regarding candidate eligibility can be submitted from Magh 5 to Magh 10.
The Commission will review and decide on such petitions between Magh 11 and Magh 17. The final list of proportional candidates is scheduled to be published on Magh 20, between 10 am and 5 pm.
Voting for the House of Representatives elections will take place on February 21, from 7 am to 5 pm, at designated polling stations across the country.
