The government has shown little interest in holding by-elections for 30 vacant positions in provincial assemblies and local governments. At present, 17 provincial assembly seats and 13 local posts, including mayors, deputy mayors, chairs and vice-chairs, remain vacant.

Although the constitution mandates filling such vacancies through by-elections, the government has not even initiated discussions with the Election Commission.

Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said there has been no consultation so far. He said holding by-elections depends largely on the government’s will.

“The constitution and laws require vacancies to be filled through by-elections,” he said, adding that the government must provide the necessary resources.

Seventeen provincial assembly seats have fallen vacant after resignations to contest House of Representatives elections and other reasons. Of these, one seat is in Koshi, four in Madhesh, six in Bagmati and five in Lumbini, while one seat in Gandaki has long remained vacant. The seat in Gandaki went vacant after the Supreme Court disqualified provincial lawmaker Rajiv Gurung, also known as Deepak Manange, following a criminal conviction.

The five-year tenure of the Provincial Assembly members is set to expire in November 2027. Constitutional provisions require by-elections if more than six months of the term remain. Article 176(8) of the constitution, along with Section 68 of the Provincial Assembly Election Act, mandates that any vacancy be filled through the same electoral system under which the member was originally elected.

“If a seat in a Provincial Assembly falls vacant with more than six months of the term remaining, it must be filled through the same electoral system by which it was filled,” Article 176(8) states.

At the local level, 13 posts, including mayors, deputy mayors, chairs and vice-chairs, are vacant.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has remained without the mayor after Balendra Shah resigned to contest the House of Representatives elections from Jhapa-5. Since his resignation, Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol has been serving as acting mayor.

In Rupandehi’s Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality, the mayoral post is vacant following the death of the mayor elected on the Nepali Congress ticket. In Saptari, the chair of Agnisair Rural Municipality had earlier resigned, leaving the position vacant.

Similarly, several local representatives have resigned, creating vacancies. These include Mayor Ran Bahadur Rai of Suryodaya Municipality in Ilam, Vice-chair Asmita Thapa of Likhu Rural Municipality in Okhaldhunga, Mayor Dilip Kumar Agrawal of Rangeli Municipality in Morang, then Mayor Harkaraj Rai of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City in Sunsari, and chair Asim Rai of Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu.

Other resignations include Mayor Ashok Kumar Byanju Shrestha of Dhulikhel Municipality in Kavre, Mayor Renu Dahal of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chair Khim Bahadur Thapa of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality in Syangja, Deputy Mayor Kamruddin Rai of Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan City in Banke, and Mayor Ramlal Dagoura Tharu of Tikapur Municipality in Kailali. These resignations have left the respective posts vacant.

While the Election Commission can set dates for federal and provincial by-elections, the government holds the authority to fix dates for local-level polls. The law requires by-elections to fill vacancies unless less than one year remains in the term. Since local elections were held on May 14, 2022, by-elections must be conducted before May 14, 2026. While snap parliamentary polls were held on March 5, local and provincial elections are due next year.

A joint secretary at the Election Commission said that although the constitution mandates by-elections, they cannot take place without the government’s willingness.

“The constitution clearly states that by-elections must be held,” he said. “However, the commission depends on the government for the resources, logistics, manpower and security arrangements required for conducting elections. Without the government’s support, elections cannot be held.”

Citing an instance where a by-election was conducted even for a single vacancy in the National Assembly, he said there has been no indication from the government regarding by-elections at the provincial and local levels. He added that while there is still time to hold by-elections for provincial assemblies, the likelihood of holding them at the local level is diminishing.

Previously, by-elections for vacant local posts were held on December 1, 2024. A total of 44 positions were filled, including two chiefs of District Coordination Committees, two rural municipality chairs, four vice-chairs, one mayor, one deputy mayor, and 34 ward chairs.

The Election Commission spent Rs116.4 million on the polls, excluding security-related costs.

Repeated attempts to contact the government spokesperson, Sasmit Pokharel, who is also the education minister, and Asim Shah, chief political adviser to Prime Minister Balendra Shah, regarding the issue failed.