| Election Name: | 2022 Nepalese local elections |
| Country: | Nepal |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Electorate: | 17,733,723 |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Turnout: | 70.96% (3.20pp)[1] |
| Previous Election: | 2017 Nepalese local elections |
| Previous Year: | 2017 |
| Election Date: | 13 May 2022[2] |
| Next Election: | 2027 Nepalese local elections |
| Next Year: | 2027 |
| Seats For Election: | 6 Metropolitan Cities 11 Sub-Metropolitan Cities 276 Municipalities 460 Rural Municipalities |
| 2Blank: | Heads |
| 3Blank: | Heads +/– |
| 6Blank: | Popular Vote |
| 7Blank: | Percentage |
| Leader1: | Sher Bahadur Deuba |
| Party1: | Nepali Congress |
| Leader Since1: | 7 March 2016 |
| 1Data1: | 275 |
| 2Data1: | 329 |
| 3Data1: | 54 |
| 4Data1: | 2,658 |
| 5Data1: | 284 |
| 6Data1: | 3,956,193 |
| 7Data1: | 34.25% |
| Leader2: | KP Sharma Oli |
| Party2: | Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) |
| Leader Since2: | 8 March 2021 |
| 1Data2: | 271 |
| 2Data2: | 206 |
| 3Data2: | 65 |
| 4Data2: | 2,132 |
| 5Data2: | 428 |
| 6Data2: | 3,811,602 |
| 7Data2: | 33.03% |
| Leader3: | Pushpa Kamal Dahal |
| Party3: | Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) |
| Leader Since3: | 8 March 2021 |
| 1Data3: | 91 |
| 2Data3: | 121 |
| 3Data3: | 15 |
| 4Data3: | 1,053 |
| 5Data3: | 49 |
| 6Data3: | 1,503,247 |
| 7Data3: | 13.03% |
| Party4: | People's Socialist Party, Nepal (2020) |
| Leader4: | Upendra Yadav |
| Leader Since4: | May 2020 |
| 1Data4: | 43 |
| 2Data4: | 30 |
| 3Data4: | 13 |
| 4Data4: | 295 |
| 5Data4: | 11 |
| 6Data4: | 577,380 |
| 7Data4: | 5.00% |
| Party5: | Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) |
| Leader5: | Madhav Kumar Nepal |
| Leader Since5: | 18 August 2021 |
| 1Data5: | 19 |
| 2Data5: | 20 |
| 3Data5: | 1 |
| 4Data5: | 190 |
| 5Data5: | 190 |
| 6Data5: | 422,737 |
| 7Data5: | 3.66% |
| Party6: | Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal |
| Leader6: | Mahantha Thakur |
| Leader Since6: | 18 August 2021 |
| 1Data6: | 18 |
| 2Data6: | 16 |
| 3Data6: | 2 |
| 4Data6: | 103 |
| 5Data6: | 92 |
| 6Data6: | 255,882 |
| 7Data6: | 2.12% |
| Party7: | Rastriya Prajatantra Party |
| Leader7: | Rajendra Lingden |
| Leader Since7: | 5 December 2021 |
| 1Data7: | 5 |
| 2Data7: | 4 |
| 3Data7: | 1 |
| 4Data7: | 62 |
| 5Data7: | 1 |
| 6Data7: | 363,160 |
| 7Data7: | 3.16% |
| Party8: | Rastriya Janamorcha |
| Leader8: | Chitra Bahadur K.C. |
| Leader Since8: | 26 May 2006 |
| 1Data8: | 3 |
| 2Data8: | 4 |
| 3Data8: | 1 |
| 4Data8: | 26 |
| 5Data8: | 7 |
| 6Data8: | 40,491 |
| 7Data8: | 0.35% |
| Party9: | Nagrik Unmukti Party |
| Leader9: | Ranjita Shrestha |
| Leader Since9: | 3 January 2022 |
| 1Data9: | New Party |
| 2Data9: | 4 |
| 3Data9: | 4 |
| 4Data9: | 14 |
| 5Data9: | 14 |
| 6Data9: | 31,039 |
| 7Data9: | 0.27% |
The 2022 Nepalese local elections were held on 13 May 2022 in 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities.[3] These were the second set of local-level elections to be held since the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015.[4] From the local election result Nepali Congress has become the single largest party of Nepal followed by CPN (UML) and Maoist Centre.
Each local body has an elected head, a chair for rural municipalities and a mayor for municipalities. They also have a deputy head, a deputy chair for rural municipalities and a deputy mayor for municipalities. Local levels are further subdivided into wards which have a ward chairperson and four members out of which two must be female with one of them from the Dalit community.[5] The Chairperson/Mayor and a Deputy chairperson/Deputy Mayor are chosen by voters of the entire local level while Ward Chairperson and Ward Members are chosen by voters of the concerned ward. A single ballot is used for voting and First past the post electoral system is used to select the winner.
| Local Level Type | Choice | |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan City | Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ward Chairperson, 4 Ward members per ward | |
| Sub-Metropolitan City | Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ward Chairperson, 4 Ward members per ward | |
| Municipality | Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Ward Chairperson, 4 Ward members per ward | |
| Rural Municipality | Chairperson, deputy chairperson, Ward Chairperson, 4 Ward members per ward |
According to Part 17 of the Constitution, a person who meets the following criteria is qualified to become a candidate for various elected offices of the local level:[6]
| Date | Pollster | Party | Mayor and Chairperson | Deputy mayor and Deputy chairperson | Ward chairman | Increase or Decrease | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 May 2022 | Setopati[7] | Congress | 295-317 | 288-309 | 2462-2607 | |||
| UML | 235-253 | 241-264 | 2085-2299 | |||||
| Maoist Centre | 76-105 | 72-99 | 970-1130 | |||||
| CPN (US) | 35-43 | 39-47 | 290-370 | |||||
| PSP-N | 24-32 | 23-29 | 200-245 | |||||
| RPP | 13-22 | 11-15 | 82-104 | |||||
| LSP-N | 12-17 | 14-19 | 89-119 | |||||
| Ind | 6-9 | 1-5 | 92-118 | |||||
| RJM | 2-4 | 2-3 | 31-46 | |||||
| NMKP | 1-2 | 1-2 | 18-23 | -/ | ||||
| Janamat | 2-5 | 1-3 | 14-20 | |||||
| PPP | 0-3 | 0-2 | 12-21 | |||||
| PFP | 0-2 | 0-1 | 9-16 | |||||
| Others | 0-2 | 0-1 | 31-47 | - | ||||
| Total | 753 | 753 | 6742 | |||||
| Date | Pollster | Party | Province 1 | Madhesh province | Bagmati province | Gandaki province | Lumbini province | Karnali province | Sudurpaschim province | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2022 | ABC Television[8] | Congress | 60-70 | 45-50 | 40-44 | 46-50 | 38-42 | 20-23 | 42-47 | 292-326 | ||
| UML | 36-40 | 23-24 | 43-50 | 23-25 | 29-30 | 13-16 | 18-23 | 185-209 | ||||
| Maoist Centre | 15-16 | 16-18 | 18-20 | 5-8 | 20-25 | 27-33 | 17-20 | 118-142 | ||||
| PSP-N | 2-4 | 27-34 | - | 2-3 | 9-15 | - | 1-2 | 41-59 | ||||
| CPN (US) | 1-2 | 2-4 | 2-3 | - | 1-2 | 5-7 | 2-4 | 13-23 | ||||
| LSP-N | 1-2 | 8-12 | - | - | 1-2 | - | 1-2 | 11-18 | ||||
| RJM | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | - | - | 5 | ||||
| RPP | 2-3 | 0-1 | 1-2 | - | 0-1 | - | 0-1 | 3-8 | ||||
| Others/Independent | - | 1-2 | 1-2 | - | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 6-10 | ||||
| High competition | 20 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 81 | ||||
| Total | 137 | 136 | 119 | 85 | 109 | 78 | 88 | 753 | ||||
| Parties | Mayor/Chair | Deputy mayor/chair | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 329 | 300 | 2,668 | 10,476 | 13,773 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 206 | 241 | 2,137 | 9,345 | 11,929 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 121 | 128 | 1,053 | 3,743 | 5,045 | ||
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 30 | 31 | 295 | 1,193 | 1,548 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 20 | 23 | 190 | 754 | 987 | ||
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal | 16 | 12 | 103 | 450 | 581 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 4 | 4 | 62 | 235 | 305 | ||
| Rastriya Janamorcha | 4 | 3 | 26 | 126 | 159 | ||
| Nagrik Unmukti Party | 4 | 3 | 14 | 78 | 99 | ||
| Janamat Party | 2 | 1 | 19 | 74 | 96 | ||
| Nepal Workers Peasants Party | 1 | 1 | 19 | 64 | 85 | ||
| People's Progressive Party | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 22 | ||
| Bibeksheel Sajha Party | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | ||
| Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 12 | ||
| Nepal Janata Party | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | ||
| Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | ||
| Nepali Congress (B.P.) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | ||
| Nepal Loktantrik Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | ||
| Rastriya Janamukti Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | ||
| Bahujan Shakti Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Bahujan Ekata Party Nepal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Nepal Susashan Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| CPN Maoist Socialist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Nepal Sadbhawana Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Independents | 13 | 4 | 137 | 232 | 385 | ||
| Total | 753 | 753 | 6,743 | 26,848 | 35,097 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[9] [10] | |||||||
| Parties | Mayor/Chairperson | Deputy mayor/chairperson | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 69 | 46 | 470 | 1,761 | 2,346 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 47 | 63 | 476 | 2,200 | 2,786 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 12 | 19 | 127 | 401 | 559 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 2 | 5 | 20 | 75 | 102 | ||
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 2 | 2 | 20 | 88 | 112 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 2 | 2 | 14 | 43 | 61 | ||
| Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | ||
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Rastriya Janamukti Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Independents | 3 | 0 | 26 | 39 | 68 | ||
| Total | 137 | 137 | 1,157 | 4,622 | 6,053 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[11] | |||||||
| Party | Mayor/Chairperson | Deputy mayor/chairperson | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 46 | 56 | 418 | 1,676 | 2,196 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 30 | 27 | 274 | 1,136 | 1,467 | ||
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 25 | 26 | 226 | 931 | 1,208 | ||
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal | 14 | 10 | 87 | 372 | 483 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 9 | 9 | 139 | 523 | 680 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 6 | 5 | 80 | 310 | 401 | ||
| Janamat Party | 2 | 1 | 13 | 46 | 62 | ||
| Bibeksheel Sajha Party | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | ||
| Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 12 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 0 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 30 | ||
| Bahujan Ekata Party Nepal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Nepal Loktantrik Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Nepal Janata Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Nepal Susashan Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Bahujan Shakti Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Nepal Sadbhwana Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Independents | 2 | 1 | 19 | 28 | 50 | ||
| Total | 136 | 136 | 1,271 | 5,078 | 6,621 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[12] | |||||||
| Parties | Mayor/Chairperson | Deputy mayor/chairperson | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 58 | 50 | 488 | 1,914 | 2,510 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 27 | 30 | 204 | 707 | 968 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 26 | 34 | 359 | 1,636 | 2,055 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 5 | 4 | 25 | 83 | 117 | ||
| Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party | 1 | 1 | 12 | 40 | 54 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 1 | 0 | 14 | 47 | 62 | ||
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Independents | 1 | 0 | 18 | 18 | 37 | ||
| Total | 119 | 119 | 1,121 | 4,447 | 5,806 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[13] | |||||||
| Party | Mayor/Chairperson | Deputy mayor/chairperson | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 36 | 31 | 351 | 1,306 | 1,724 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 35 | 33 | 284 | 1,279 | 1,631 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 11 | 19 | 89 | 303 | 422 | ||
| Rastriya Janamorcha | 2 | 1 | 10 | 46 | 59 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 20 | ||
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 15 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | ||
| Rastriya Janamukti Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Independents | 0 | 1 | 18 | 35 | 54 | ||
| Total | 85 | 85 | 759 | 3,008 | 3,937 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[14] | |||||||
| Parties | Mayor/Chairperson | Deputy mayor/chairperson | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 48 | 44 | 375 | 1,516 | 1,983 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 27 | 40 | 314 | 1,315 | 1,696 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 25 | 15 | 170 | 621 | 831 | ||
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 3 | 3 | 43 | 153 | 202 | ||
| Rastriya Janamorcha | 2 | 2 | 16 | 80 | 100 | ||
| Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal | 2 | 2 | 15 | 74 | 93 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 1 | 2 | 21 | 84 | 108 | ||
| People's Progressive Party, Nepal | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 22 | ||
| Janamat Party | 0 | 0 | 6 | 28 | 34 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 16 | ||
| Bahujan Shakti Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Nepal Janata Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Rastriya Janamukti Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Independents | 0 | 0 | 13 | 24 | 37 | ||
| Total | 109 | 109 | 983 | 3,932 | 5,133 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[15] | |||||||
| Party | Mayor/Chairperson | Deputy mayor/chairperson | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 32 | 27 | 253 | 944 | 1,256 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 23 | 25 | 223 | 855 | 1,126 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 15 | 20 | 184 | 818 | 1,037 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 4 | 6 | 30 | 140 | 180 | ||
| Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party | 0 | 0 | 7 | 24 | 31 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | ||
| CPN Maoist Socialist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Independents | 5 | 1 | 20 | 42 | 68 | ||
| Total | 79 | 79 | 718 | 2,835 | 3,711 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[16] | |||||||
| Parties | Mayor/Chairperson | Deputy mayor/chairperson | Ward chair | Ward members | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | 40 | 46 | 313 | 1,359 | 1,758 | ||
| CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) | 26 | 24 | 246 | 961 | 1,257 | ||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 14 | 11 | 101 | 333 | 459 | ||
| Nagrik Unmukti Party | 4 | 3 | 14 | 78 | 99 | ||
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 2 | 3 | 28 | 118 | 151 | ||
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 22 | ||
| People's Socialist Party, Nepal | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | ||
| Nepali Congress (B.P.) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | ||
| Nepal Loktantrik Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Independents | 2 | 1 | 23 | 46 | 72 | ||
| Total | 88 | 88 | 734 | 2,926 | 3,836 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Nepal[17] | |||||||
| City | District | Province | Outgoing mayor | Elected mayor | Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biratnagar | Morang | Province No. 1 | Bheem Parajuli (Congress) | Naagesh Koirala (Congress) | Details | |||
| Birgunj | Parsa | Madhesh | Vijaya Kumar Sarawagi (FSFN) | Rajesh Man Singh (PSPN) | Details | |||
| Lalitpur | Lalitpur | Bagmati | Chiri Babu Maharjan (Congress) | Chiri Babu Maharjan (Congress) | Details | |||
| Bharatpur | Chitwan | Renu Dahal (Maoist Centre) | Renu Dahal (Maoist Centre) | Details | ||||
| Kathmandu | Kathmandu | Bidya Sundar Shakya (UML) | Balendra Shah (Independent) | Details | ||||
| Pokhara | Kaski | Gandaki | Man Bahadur GC (UML) | Dhanraj Acharya (Socialist) | Details | |||
| City | District | Province | Outgoing mayor | Elected mayor | Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dharan | Sunsari | Province No. 1 | Tilak Rai (Congress) | Harka Raj Rai (Independent) | Details | |||
| Itahari | Dwarika Lal Chaudhary (UML) | Hem Karna Paudel (Congress) | Details | |||||
| Janakpur | Dhanusha | Madhesh | Lal Kishor Sah (RJPN) | Manoj Kumar Sah (Independent) | Details | |||
| Kalaiya | Bara | Rajesh Raya Yadav (Congress) | Binod Prasad Shah (UML) | Details | ||||
| Jitpursimara | Krishna Prasad Paudel (UML) | Rajan Paudel (Maoist Centre) | Details | |||||
| Hetauda | Makwanpur | Bagmati | Hari Bahadur Mahat (UML) | Mina Kumari Lama (Socialist) | Details | |||
| Butwal | Rupandehi | Lumbini | Shiva Raj Subedi (UML) | Khel Raj Panday (Congress) | Details | |||
| Tulsipur | Dang | Ghana Shyam Pandey (UML) | Tika Ram Adhikari (UML) | Details | ||||
| Ghorahi | Naru Lal Chaudhary (UML) | Naru Lal Chaudhary (UML) | Details | |||||
| Nepalgunj | Banke | Dhawal Shamsher Rana (RPP) | Prashant Bista (Congress) | Details | ||||
| Dhangadhi | Kailali | Sudurpashchim | Nrip Bahadur Wad (Congress) | Gopal Hamal (Independent) | Details | |||
The Election Commission of Nepal sought clarification from CPN (Maoist Centre) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the wife of prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Arzu Rana Deuba for violating the code of conduct during their election rally.[18]
The chairman of the Muslim Commission Samim Miya Ansari was caught in Janakpurdham during the silence period of election campaigning for trying to buy votes for independent candidate Janakiram Sah and Surendra Bhandari, the chair of the Janakpur committee of CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) was also arrested for trying to buy votes.[19] Ansari later accused UML leaders Raghubir Mahasheth and Julie Kumari Mahato of framing him.[20]
During election day, the commission fined former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai NPR 15,000 for breaking the code of conduct by tweeting a picture of his ballot paper.[21] In Vyas municipality in Tanahun, independent candidate, Deepak Raj Joshi, son of former Nepali Congress leader Govinda Raj Joshi, sustained injuries to the head after being beaten up by cadres of Nepali Congress.[22] After clashes broke out between cadres of People's Socialist Party, Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) in Yamunamai Rural Municipality in Rautahat, a former police constable ran away with the ballot box in the ensuing chaos and voting was suspended.[23] He was later arrested.[24]
According to the National Human Rights Commission voting was suspended in different parts of the country due to clashes between supporters of different political parties.[25] The Election Commission of Nepal reported that voting was suspended in 79 polling centres on May 13.[26]
After accusations of booth capturing by CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) in Budhiganga Rural Municipality in Bajura, Nepali Congress demanded that a re-election be held.[27] The Election Commission later agreed with the demands and a re-election was held on 7 July.[28] [29]