A total of 52 candidates on Monday filed their nominations for the National Assembly election scheduled for January 25.

According to the Election Commission, the candidacies were registered at the Offices of Returning Officers established in the capitals of all seven provinces from 10am to 3pm on Monday.

A total of 18 candidates filed their nominations under women category, five under Dalit, eight under differently-abled/minority and 21 under others category, according to Shaligram Sharma Poudel, the spokesperson at the commission.

A total of five candidacies for two vacant seats (women and others categories) were filed in Koshi Province, five candidacies for two seats (women and others categories) were registered in Madhesh Province, eight candidacies for three seats (women, differently-abled/minority and others categories) in Gandaki and seven candidacies for two seats (women and others categories) were filed in Lumbini.

Likewise, 15 candidates registered their nominations for four seats (women, differently-abled/minority, Dalit and others categories) in Bagmati Province.

The commission said six candidates registered their nominations for three seats (women, Dalit and others categories) in Karnali and six registered their nominations for three seats (women, differently-abled/minority and others categories) in Sudurpaschim Province.

The parties in the Nepali Congress-led ruling alliance are contesting the election together, while the main opposition the CPN-UML is vying for the election in all the 19 seats on its own.

The Congress-led coalition on Sunday reached a seat-sharing deal for the elections. As per the agreement, the largest party Congress fielded its candidates for 10 of the 19 seats to be vacant on March 3. The CPN (Maoist Centre) got six while the CPN (Unified Socialist) and the Janata Samajbadi Party got two and one seats, respectively.

Notably, the Janamat Party, one of the partners in the ruling alliance, filed its rival candidacies in Madhesh and Lumbini provinces. The party’s Ram Shankar Mahaseth filed his nomination for others category in Madhesh while Bal Govinda Chaudhary registered his candidacy in Lumbini for others category.

The CK Raut-led Janamat Party’s Anita Devi is minister for federal affairs and general administration in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government. While sharing seats for the candidacy among the ruling coalition partners, some fringe parties including Janamat, Nagarik Unmukti and Loktantrik Samajbadi were denied any seats.

Ananda Prasad Dhungana of the Congress is the official candidate for a Madhesh Province seat from the ruling alliance while Jhakku Prasad Subedi of the Maoist Centre is the official candidate in Lumbini under others category.

A total of 19 candidates from the UML filed their candidacies on Monday, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party fielded eight candidates in Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces while the Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party four in Bagmati Province.

The Election Commission on Sunday published the voter list. An electoral college of provincial assembly members, chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of rural municipalities, and mayor and deputy mayors of municipalities, metropolis and sub-metropolis votes to elect the members.

As many as 549 provincial assembly members and 1,498 chiefs and their deputies of the local units are eligible to vote in the upper house election. Their votes have a combined weightage of 57,559.

A vote of the provincial assembly member carries a weightage of 53, whereas it is 19 each for the chief and deputy chiefs of the local units.

As per the election timetable, the nominations list will be published on Tuesday while the final list of candidates will be published on January 12. The candidates will be provided with an election symbol on January 13. Voting will take place from 9.00 am to 3.00 pm on January 25.

The term of 20 lawmakers in the 59-strong upper house expires on March 3. While 19 seats will be filled through elections, one member will be nominated by the President on the Cabinet’s recommendation.

The term of one-third members of the upper house is completed every two years.