Voting began on Sunday to elect 17 members of the National Assembly, as the terms of 19 members are set to expire on March 4.

Of the 19 vacant seats, one member from Koshi Province has already been elected unopposed, while one will be nominated by the President on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. Elections are being held for the remaining seats.

As per Article 86(3) of the Constitution, elections to fill National Assembly vacancies must be held at least 35 days before the seats fall vacant. Members are elected by voters from the same province where the vacancy arises, with polling centres set up in provincial capitals.

Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said all preparations for the election had been completed. Voting is taking place from 9am to 3pm, with counting set to begin immediately after polling ends.

Members of provincial assemblies, as well as mayors, chairpersons, deputy mayors and vice-chairpersons of local units are eligible voters. Of the total 2,056 voters, including 550 provincial assembly members and 753 local-level chiefs and deputies, 14 positions are already vacant due to various reasons.

Ahead of the upcoming House of Representatives election, 16 provincial assembly members and 11 local-level officials resigned to contest, rendering them ineligible to vote despite their names remaining on the voters’ list, according to the commission.

The final voters’ list includes 545 provincial assembly members and 1,497 local-unit chiefs and deputies. Each provincial assembly member carries a vote weightage of 53, while each local-unit official’s vote carries a weightage of 19.

In Koshi Province, Nepali Congress candidate Sunil Bahadur Thapa has been elected unopposed from the ‘other’ category. Voting is being held for the remaining 17 seats nationwide, with 43 candidates in the fray. The Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Janata Samajbadi Pary-Nepal have formed an electoral alliance.

The Congress leadership elected through its special general convention has said the alliance for the National Assembly election will remain intact. Under the alliance, Congress has fielded candidates for nine seats, UML for eight and JSP-Nepal for one. The Nepali Communist Party has fielded candidates for all 17 contested seats.

In Koshi Province, voting is underway for one seat each from the women and Dalit categories. UML’s Roshani Meche and NCP’s Namita Neupane are contesting the women’s seat, while UML’s Somanath Portel and NCP’s Khemraj Nepali are vying for the Dalit seat.

Madhesh Province is electing four members, one each from the women, Dalit, persons with disabilities or minorities, and other categories. UML’s Rekha Kumari Jha, NCP’s Shami Kumari Agrawal and JSP-Nepal’s Chandrakala Devi Sah are contesting the women’s seat. Congress’s Dharmendra Paswan, NCP’s Shambhu Paswan Hajari and JSP-Nepal’s Chameli Devi Das are competing for the Dalit seat.

For the persons with disabilities or minorities category, Congress’s Ranjit Karna, NCP’s Ramnandan Prasad and JSP-Nepal’s Shailesh Kumar Chaudhary are in the race. In the other category, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party chair Mahanta Thakur is contesting with the backing of Congress, UML and JSP-Nepal, while the NCP has fielded Laxman Paudel.

JSP-Nepal, which has unified with the LSP, had earlier announced it would support the alliance and render its own candidacy inactive. In the 107-member Madhesh provincial assembly, three members remain suspended.

Bagmati Province is voting for two seats, one each from the women and other categories. Congress’s Gita Devkota, NCP’s Saroj Kumari Jha and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party’s Kabita Maharjan are contesting the women’s seat. UML’s Prem Prasad Dangal, NCP’s Prem Prasad Sapkota and NWPP’s Bikram Dhukuchhe are competing in the other category.

In Gandaki Province, elections are being held for one women’s seat and one other category seat. UML’s Samjhana Devkota, NCP’s Goma Luitel Ghimire and Rastriya Janamorcha’s Laxmi Baskota are contesting the women’s seat. Congress’s Jagat Timilsina, NCP’s Kapil Lama and Janamorcha’s Shankar Prasad Baral are in the race for the other seat.

Lumbini Province is electing three members, one each from the women, persons with disabilities or minorities, and other categories. Under the Congress–UML alliance, UML leader Ram Kumari Jhankri is contesting the women’s seat, alongside NCP’s Durga Kumari Bhandari and Janamorcha’s Padma Pandit.

For the persons with disabilities or minorities category, Congress’s Basudev Ghimire and NCP’s Sarjan BK are candidates. In the other category, Congress’s Chandra Bahadur KC, NCP’s Brihaspati Adhikari and Janamorcha’s Bom Bahadur Khatri are contesting.

Karnali Province is voting for two seats, one for women and one other category. UML’s Meena Singh Rakhal and NCP’s Anju Mahatara are competing for the women’s seat, while Congress’s Lalit Jung Shahi and NCP’s Buddhi Prasad Sharma are contesting the other category seat.

In Sudurpaschim Province, elections are underway for one women’s seat and one other category seat. UML’s Leela Kumari Bhandari and NCP’s Roji Basnet are contesting the women’s seat, while Congress’s Khamba Bahadur Khati and NCP’s Tikaram Jaisi are competing in the other category.