85 Candidates Withdraw Names from Proportional Representation List

Kathmandu, January 13: A total of 85 candidates from various political parties have withdrawn their names from the proportional representation (PR) closed list for the House of Representatives election.

The Election Commission provided a time slot on Monday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, for candidates to take back their names. The election for the House of Representatives is scheduled to take place on March 5 (Phagun 21). According to the rules, candidates could withdraw their names either in person or through a legal representative.

According to the Commission, candidates from parties including the Janamat Party, CPN (UML), Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), Nepali Communist Party, Progressive Democratic Party, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party withdrew their names. Specifically, 21 candidates from the Janata Samajbadi Party and 20 from the Janamat Party removed their names from the list.

The Janata Samajbadi Party explained that they rearranged their list because of a recent merger with the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party. The Election Commission mentioned that the final number of candidates might change slightly when the official final list is published.

A total of 64 political parties had submitted their closed lists on Poush 13 and 14. Out of the 275 members in the House of Representatives, 110 are elected through the proportional system, while 165 are elected through direct voting.