President Ramchandra Paudel on Tuesday issued an ordinance to amend the Voter Registration Act to ensure that thousands of young voters from the Gen Z age group can exercise their franchise in the upcoming March elections.

The government had recommended the ordinance after Section 4, subsection 2 (2) of the Act barred voter registration once the election date had been declared.

Section 4, subsection 2 (2) of the Voter Registration Act, 2017, stipulates, “No person shall be registered in the voters’ list for the purpose of an election after the date of that election has been declared.”

Without the amendment, many first-time voters including those who spearheaded the recent political transformation would have been disenfranchised.

Prime Minister Sushila Karki had announced the dissolution of the House of Representatives and declared elections for March 5, on the very day of her appointment on September 12.

Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, who took office on September 15, had pledged to provide one opportunity for eligible and left-out citizens to register. He also announced that the government had begun work on granting voting rights to Nepalis living abroad, with a study team already formed.

The ordinance revises the restrictive provision in the Act, replacing it with a new clause that allows voter registration “within the period specified by the Election Commission.”

The commission will now set specific days for registration, enabling all qualified youths and previously excluded voters to enrol.

Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson for the Election Commission, said the commission plans to allocate 120 days for the entire election process. “We will first complete voter registration and then move forward with the election timetable as usual,” he said.

The ordinance is widely seen as a victory for Gen Z, whose protests against corruption and poor governance brought down the Oli-led coalition and paved the way for the interim government under Karki. It now ensures that people from the same generation will have the chance to formally shape the country’s political future at the ballot box.