The upcoming snap election for the House of Representatives has gotten a new momentum with the peaceful conclusion of the nominations for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category of seats across the country on Tuesday.

As many as 3,484 individuals from 68 political parties as well as independents have registered their candidacies for the March 5 election. Exercising their franchise will be around 18,903,689 registered voters.

A total of 165 members in the 275-strong lower house are elected through the FPTP while remaining 110 seats are filled under the proportional representation (PR) system.

Of the total, 2,297 are the candidates from 68 parties while remaining 1,187 have filed nominations as independents. Officials at the Election Commission said the number might change slightly after the final verification. Even as 120 parties including those wishing to contest under the same election symbol had been registered to contest the snap polls, around half of them did not field candidates.

Likewise, only 63 parties have submitted the closed list of the candidates under the PR category.

“The nominations for the direct elections have been filed peacefully across the nation. We now firmly believe the elections will be held in a fearless environment and on the stipulated date,” said Ram Prashad Bhandari, acting chief election commissioner.

As per the commission’s tally, 3,088 are male candidates while just 395 (11 percent) are women. One candidate belongs to the sexual and gender minority group. Even as the snap polls were announced following the youth-led Gen Z revolt that ousted then KP Sharma Oli government, youth candidates make up only 15 percent of the total.

While 583 candidates are under 35 years, 1,610 are between 36 and 50 years old. As many as 1,090 come in the 51-65 age bracket. Likewise, there are 201 candidates above 65.

Of the 68 parties, only CPN-UML and Nepali Congress have fielded candidates in all 165 constituencies. The Nepali Communist Party, which was formed after a merger of several leftist parties and groups including the CPN (Maoist Centre), has fielded candidates in 164 constituencies, while the Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajantra Party are not contesting in two seats each.

Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson at the commission, said anyone who has an objection in the name of any candidate can lodge complaints on Wednesday. The respective election offices will analyse the complaints and publish a new list on Thursday.

Candidates willing to withdraw their nomination can apply by Friday morning and the commission will publish the final list of the candidates in the afternoon. “Election symbols will be allotted to respective candidates on Friday evening,” he said.

Even as the nominations will be complete on Friday, the aspirants will have to wait for around a month to start their election campaigns. The commission has given 15 days between February 16 and March 3 for electioneering.

Bhandari said that the candidates are free to meet their voters, hold consultations and meetings but are not allowed to take part in rallies and publicity campaigns. He warned of actions as prescribed in the election code of conduct if the candidates are found in breach of the commission’s directives. The commission can impose fines of upto Rs 100,000 and can even terminate the candidacy if the candidates are found breaching the code.

As dozens of local representatives and provincial assembly members quit to contest the lower house polls, the commission said it will hold the bypolls in those vacant seats once the March 5 elections are completed.

“We will first fulfill our commitment to hold the election for the House of Representatives on March 5. After that, we will review where and how positions have become vacant at the provincial and local levels. The dates for the by-elections will be fixed in coordination with the government,” said Bhandari.