The Election Commission has said that extending the voter registration deadline could disrupt the election schedule and affect the polls scheduled for March 5.

In their meeting with Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Wednesday, officials at the commission said there was no need to extend the deadline as arrangements had been made for registrations 12 hours a day starting at 7 am. The prime minister’s office on Monday had requested the commission to reconsider the voter identity registration deadline if necessary.

Following complaints over technical glitches in the registration, Karki’s office also requested the commission to start the registration process in multiple shifts and begin technical and legal procedures to integrate data from the national identity department to remove biometrics redundancy.

“We informed the prime minister that the commission’s assessment suggests there is no need to extend the deadline. Its extension means the entire election schedule will need to be revised,” acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari told the Post.

“Further pushing the voter registration deadline could affect the election date.”

Even as the election laws said voter registration must cease once the election dates are announced, the commission, through a revision to the law through an ordinance, allowed it until November 16.

Four days before the deadline, around 235,000 new voters have been registered with the commission while the poll body expects the tally to jump over 300,000.

As many as 17,988,570 voters—9,140,806 men, 8,847,579 women and 185 from other categories—were eligible to cast their ballots in November 2022. By April 2025, in two-and-a-half years, the number increased by 160,054 to 18,148,654.

As per the commission’s official report, several of its plans are directly related to the number of voters. The polling centres and stations are determined based on the number of voters while the number of staff and security people varies depending on such centres and stations.

“Delay in determining the exact number of voters pushes back other planning,” said Bhandari.

At Wednesday’s meeting Bhandari and his team briefed the prime minister that they had already completed 60 percent election-related tasks and based on the current assessment, they were confident that the election can be successfully held on stipulated time.

Unlike in the past, groups and parties that had previously boycotted or obstructed elections have now registered with the commission and are eager to participate, creating a more favourable environment than before, the team said in the meeting.

“According to our assessment, it is possible to hold the election on the scheduled date, and the commission is fully capable of doing so. There is no reason for any doubt,” said Bhandari. However, he also requested the government to ensure all the logistics are made available on time and security arrangements are made as needed.

“We are moving as per our plan and we don’t want changes in it,” said Bhandari. The commission is holding consultations with the political parties on Thursday to get their assurance for the timely election. It held a similar consultation last month.

Publishing the detailed election schedule on October 5, the commission had set November 16 as the deadline for voter registration and registration of new parties.

As per the commission’s schedule, the parties willing to contest next year’s polls should register separately for the purpose. They will have 10 days to do so from November 17. Not every party registered with the commission participates in elections.

“The office of the election officers for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) will be set up starting January 16, 2026,” according to the schedule. “Such an office for the proportional representation (PR) system will open on December 1.”

The parties contesting the polls will have to submit the closed list of candidates for the proportional representation system on January 2 and 3 next year.

In the 275-strong lower house, 165 members are elected through the FPTP while the remaining 110 get elected under the proportional representation based on the vote shares of each party. Currently, the constitutional poll management body is registering new voters for the upcoming polls. As per the commission’s report, as many as 18,148,654 voters have been listed as of Chaitra, the end of the Nepali year 2081 that fell in mid-April.

The commission has decided to give two weeks starting February 15 for the publicity campaigns. There will be two days of silence before voting commences at 7 am on March 5. The voting will continue till 7 pm that evening.