Kathmandu, Oct 7: The Election Commission (EC) has approved the schedule for the House of Representatives (HoR) election set for March 5, 2026.

According to the EC’s notice issued on Monday, political parties intending to contest must register between November 17 and November 26. New parties seeking participation must first obtain government registration by November 16.

Returning Officers’ offices will begin operations on January 16. Campaigning for all parties is allowed from February 15 to March 2, 2026. On polling day, voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and ballot counting will begin only after all boxes are collected and verified.

For the Proportional Representation (PR) system, Returning Officer offices will be established on December 1, and parties must submit their closed lists on January 2 and 3.

The EC said it will maintain regular consultations with political parties and other concerned groups to ensure smooth implementation of the election plan.

EC spokesperson and Joint Secretary Narayan Prasad Bhattarai clarified that only parties officially registered with the Commission will be eligible to file candidacies for the 2026 HoR election.

People’s News Monitoring Service