New political parties have until November 26 to register with the Election Commission both as a party and for election purposes if they intend to contest the March 5 polls.

The commission, which previously required new parties to register by November 16 and to file separately for election participation by November 26, has now clubbed the two procedures.

“Those that could not register by today [Sunday] have 10 days to get the registration certificates for both purposes,” said Yagya Bhattarai, chief of the Law and Political Parties Management Division of the commission.

As per the commission’s report, seven new political parties have been registered with the commission as of Sunday following the announcement of snap elections two months ago.

An equal number of parties has been delisted in the period as 10 different parties and political outfits including the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the CPN (Unified Socialist) merged to form a united force.

The commission had 122 political parties registered with it before the poll dates were announced. That number still stands, as an equal number of parties have been registered and deregistered.

Currently, the commission is studying applications from 29 different forces. “We are studying whether the applicants have presented all the required documents. Those not fulfilling the criteria cannot participate in the House of Representatives election,” said Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, the commission’s spokesperson.

The commission has set until November 26 for the parties to register for National Assembly elections, too. Polling for 18 seats in the upper house will be held on January 25.

To be listed as a political party, an outfit must submit its statute, flag, desired election symbol, and the signatures of at least 500 voters, among other documents.

Those opting to fight upcoming elections include businessmen, lawmakers of the dissolved House of Representatives, and social activists, among others. Shram Sanskriti Party of Harka Sampang, the mayor of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, was the first to get a new party registered in the aftermath of the Gen Z movement that upended the country’s politics.

The Gatisheel Loktantrik Party led by Dinesh Prasai, a professor of sociology, which includes businessman Birendra Basnet and others, is also among the seven parties that have already gotten the certificate.

An independent lawmaker from the dissolved lower house, Yogendra Mandal, has registered his Urjashil Party Nepal. Mandal, a CPN-UML leader, contested the November 2022 elections independently and won after the party denied him a ticket. He comes from Morang.

Khagendra Sunar, an anti-caste discrimination activist, has applied to form a party. Likewise, Chandra Prakash Subedi has applied for the registration of Sundar Nepal Nirman Party while Sabin Sigdel wants the Rashtra Nirman Party listed for the upcoming elections.

​Similarly, Ratna Prasad Shrestha has filed an application to constitute the Nagarik Sarbochchata Party Nepal and the commission has received an application from Himalaya Bahadur Chand for the registration of the Nepal Rashtriya Yuwa Party.

A group of youths led by Hira Prasad Seti has applied for the Rastriya Gen Z Party Nepal. The party’s proposed election symbol is a cross of two khukuri knives. Similarly, Ujyalo Nepal Party led by former secretary Anup Kumar Upadhayay, which is backed by Energy Minister Kulman Ghising, is also among 29 parties awaiting certificate.

The Nagarik Bachau Dal led by Madhav Prasad Khatiwada, a personal aide to Durga Prasai, has also applied for the registration. Netra Bikram Chand’s Communist Party Nepal and Nawa Nirman Party of Kishori Karki, a Gen Z leader, are also among the 29 forces awaiting commission’s approval.

“We expect some more applications until the deadline,” said Bhattarai, the chief of the political party division. The number of parties registered with the commission is sure to exceed 150. However, not all of them will contest the upcoming elections.