2017 Nepalese provincial elections explained

Election Name:	2017 Nepalese provincial assembly elections
Country:	Nepal
Type:	parliamentary
Ongoing:	no
Next Election:	2022 Nepalese provincial elections
Next Year:	2022
Seats For Election:	All 550 seats in the 7 provincial assemblies
Election Date:	26 November 7 December 2017
Registered:	15,427,731
Map Size:	330px
1Blank:	Constituency Vote
2Blank:	% and change
3Blank:	PR Vote
4Blank:	% and change
Party1:	Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)
Leader1:	Khadga Prasad Oli
Leader Since1:	July 2014
Seats1:	243
Seat Change1:	First provincial election
Leader2:	Sher Bahadur Deuba
Party2:	Nepali Congress
Leader Since2:	7 March 2016
Seats2:	113
Seat Change2:	First provincial election
Image3:	Prachanda 2009.jpg
Party3:	Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)
Leader3:	Pushpa Kamal Dahal
Leader Since3:	May 1999
Seats3:	108
Seat Change3:	First provincial election
Party4:	Rastriya Janata Party Nepal
Leader4:	Mahantha Thakur
Colour4:	FFb300
Leader Since4:	21 April 2017
Seats4:	28
Seat Change4:	First provincial election
Colour5:	FFC0CB
Party5:	FSFN
Leader5:	Upendra Yadav
Leader Since5:	15 July 2015
Seats5:	37
Seat Change5:	First provincial election
Party6:	Rastriya Prajatantra Party
Leader6:	Kamal Thapa
Colour6:	FFD700
Leader Since6:	20 February 2017
Seats6:	4
Seat Change6:	First provincial election

Provincial assembly elections were held in Nepal on 26 November and 7 December 2017 along with the general election. 330 seats in the seven newly created provincial assemblies were elected by first-past-the-post voting and 220 by proportional representation. The election was part of Nepal's transformation to a federal republic.^[1] Next Election will be held in 2022 unless dissolved earlier without completing the five years term. 2022 Nepalese provincial election will be the second election for provinces after completion of tenure of five years.

Electoral system

The 550 members of the provincial assemblies will be elected by two methods; 330 will be elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 220 seats will be elected by closed list proportional representation for parties gathering more than 1.5% of the votes.^[2] Each voter will get separate ballot papers for the two methods.

Eligibility to vote

To vote in the general election, one must be:^[3]

on the electoral roll
aged 18
a citizen of Nepal
of sound mind
not ineligible as per federal election fraud and punishment laws

Timetable

The key dates are listed below

19 August	Last day to register to be on electoral roll^[4]
21 August	Cabinet announces election date
27 August	Last day for party registration at Election Commission^[5]
30 August	Election code of conduct starts
14 October	Tenure of Legislature parliament ends
15 October	Parties submit preliminary closed list for proportional representation
22 October	Candidate nomination for first phase of first past the post
2 November	Candidate nomination for second phase of first past the post
19 November	Closed list for proportional representation finalized and published
26 November	Election day (first phase) – polling centres open 07:00 to 17:00
7 December	Election day (second phase) – polling centres open 07:00 to 17:00

The first phase of the election was carried out on 26 November 2017 in 32 mountainous and hilly districts.^[6] The counting of the votes of the first phase will also only begin once the second phase is conducted.^[7]

Results

Overall

Party! colspan="3"
Votes	%	Seats	Votes	Total	%	Seats
				Total
	CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist)	3,041,962	28.75	168	2,938,584	32.58	75	243
	Nepali Congress	3,635,179	34.35	41	2,869,418	31.81	72	113
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	1,664,042	16.43	73	1,325,048	14.69	35	108
	Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal	531,900	5.03	24	447,787	4.96	13	37
	Rastriya Janata Party Nepal	409,360	3.87	16	432,591	4.80	12	28
bgcolor=#FFD700		Rastriya Prajatantra Party	84,272	0.80	0	203,586	2.26	3	3
	Bibeksheel Sajha Party	98,636	0.93	0	198,649	2.20	3	3
bgcolor=#4682B4		Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Democratic)	34,590	0.33	0	92,601	1.03	1	1
bgcolor=#D02020		Naya Shakti Party, Nepal	92,533	0.87	2	88,199	0.98	1	3
	Rastriya Janamorcha	55,808	0.53	2	64,424	0.71	2	4
	Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party	50,714	0.48	1	57,185	0.63	1	2
	Nepal Federal Socialist Party	19,544	0.18	0	37,179	0.41	1	1
	Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch	23,044	0.22	0	26,282	0.29	1	1
	Others	215,932	2.04	0	237,764	2.64	0	0
	Independent	173,687	1.64	3	–	–	–	3
Invalid/Blank votes		450,484	–	–	1,531,223	–	–	–
Total		10,581,687	100	330	10,550,520	100	220	550
Registered voters/turnout		15,428,160	68.59	–	15,428,160	68.38	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Koshi Province


Party								Total
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total
		720,339	37.30	36	673,709	38.79	15	51
		739,937	38.31	8	586,246	33.76	13	21
		259,025	13.41	10	206,781	11.91	5	15
		91,771	4.75	1	70,476	4.06	2	3
bgcolor=#FFD700		Rastriya Prajatantra Party	4,867	0.25	0	57,342	3.30	1	1
	Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch	22,493	1.16	0	26,123	1.50	1	1
	Others	78,748	4.08	0	115,945	6.68	0	0
		14,257	0.74	1	–	–	–	1
Invalid/Blank votes		88,998	–	–	276,409	–	–	–
Total		2,020,435	100	56	2,013,031	100	37	93
Registered voters/turnout		2,993,774	67.49	–	2,993,774	67.24	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Madhesh Province


Party								Total
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total
	Nepali Congress	509,139	27.82	8	370,550	24.11	11	19
	Rastriya Janata Party Nepal	303,041	16.56	15	318,524	20.72	10	25
	Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal	326,298	17.83	20	284,072	18.48	9	29
	CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)	282,718	15.45	14	249,734	16.25	7	21
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	234,160	12.80	6	182,619	11.88	5	11
	Nepal Federal Socialist Party	17,976	0.98	0	32,864	2.14	1	1
	Others	66,633	3.65	0	98,808	6.42	0	0
	Independent	89,842	4.91	1	–	–	–	1
Invalid/Blank votes		98,959	–	–	374,853	–	–	–
Total		1,928,766	100	64	1,912,024	100	43	107
Registered voters/turnout		2,767,379	69.69	–	2,767,379	69.09	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Bagmati Province

Party! colspan="3"
Votes	%	Seats	Votes	Total	%	Seats
				Total
	CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)	725,113	35.37	42	677,317	35.81	16	58
	Nepali Congress	748,207	36.50	7	559,249	29.57	14	21
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	355,126	16.32	15	316,876	16.75	8	23
	Bibeksheel Sajha Party	74,656	3.64	0	124,442	6.58	3	3
bgcolor=#FFD700		Rastriya Prajatantra Party	27,960	1.36	0	59,268	3.13	1	1
	Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party	40,502	1.98	1	41,610	2.20	1	2
bgcolor=#4682B4		Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Democratic)	1,399	0.07	0	28,855	1.53	1	1
bgcolor=#D02020		Naya Shakti Party, Nepal	21,552	1.05	1	23,958	1.27	0	1
	Others	50,791	3.48	0	59,731	3.16	0	0
	Independent	4,688	0.23	0	–	–	–	0
Invalid/Blank votes		70,471	–	–	226,043	–	–	–
Total		2,120,465	100	66	2,117,314	100	44	110
Registered voters/turnout		3,074,381	68.97	–	3,074,381	68.87	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Gandaki Province


Party								Total
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total
	CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)	268,540	26.09	17	373,501	39.04	10	27
	Nepali Congress	424,202	41.21	6	364,797	38.13	9	15
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	242,635	23.57	9	119,528	12.49	3	12
bgcolor=#D02020		Naya Shakti Party, Nepal	21,259	2.07	1	24,625	2.57	1	2
	Rastriya Janamorcha	29,968	2.91	2	19,376	2.03	1	3
	Others	39,169	3.79	0	54,992	5.75	0	0
	Independent	3,666	0.36	1	–	–	–	1
Invalid/Blank votes		29,039	–	–	101,007	–	–	–
Total		1,058,478	100	36	1,057,826	100	24	60
Registered voters/turnout		1,568,924	67.47	–	1,568,924	67.42	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Lumbini Province


Party								Total
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total
	CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)	572,942	31.35	28	533,613	33.10	13	41
	Nepali Congress	646,200	35.36	7	530,844	32.93	12	19
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	285,878	14.64	14	239,281	14.84	6	20
	Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal	97,892	5.36	3	78,567	4.87	2	5
	Rastriya Janata Party Nepal	54,529	2.98	0	54,110	3.36	1	1
	Rastriya Janamorcha	15,803	0.86	0	32,546	2.02	1	1
	Others	105,363	6.77	0	143,219	8.88	0	0
	Independent	49,024	2.68	0	–	–	–	0
Invalid/Blank votes		90,857	–	–	306,734	–	–	–
Total		1,918,488	100	52	1,918,914	100	35	87
Registered voters/turnout		2,740,867	70.03	–	2,740,867	70.01	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Karnali Province


Party								Total
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total
	CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)	180,952	32.58	14	169,755	34.35	6	20
	Nepali Congress	210,290	37.86	1	162,003	32.78	5	6
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	128,805	23.19	9	117,298	23.74	4	13
bgcolor=#FFD700		Rastriya Prajatantra Party	6,290	1.13	0	15,629	3.16	1	1
	Others	21,500	3.88	0	29,477	5.97	0	0
	Independent	7,580	1.36	0	–	–	–	0
Invalid/Blank votes		26,511	–	–	87,910	–	–	–
Total		581,948	100	24	582,072	100	16	40
Registered voters/turnout		847,162	68.69	–	847,162	68.71	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Sudurpashchim Province


Party								Total
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total
	Nepali Congress	357,204	39.37	4	295,729	37.38	8	12
	CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist)	291,358	32.11	17	260,955	32.99	8	25
	CPN (Maoist Centre)	166,513	18.35	10	142,702	18.04	4	14
	Rastriya Janata Party Nepal	32,400	3.57	1	36,902	4.66	1	2
	Others	55,269	5.49	0	54,784	6.93	0	0
	Independent	4,630	0.51	0	–	–	–	0
Invalid/Blank votes		45,649	–	–	158,267	–	–	–
Total		953,033	100	32	949,339	100	21	53
Registered voters/turnout		1,435,673	66.38	–	1,435,673	66.13	–	–
Source: Election Commission of Nepal

Notes and References

News: Nepal elections explained . 2017-12-14.
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/np/np029en.pdf Article 84
Electoral Roll Act, 2017. Act. 23. 2 February 2017. 6 & 23. 5 September 2017. ne. https://web.archive.org/web/20170905141743/http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/documents/2017/07/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE-%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80-%E0%A4%8F%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A8-%E0%A5%A8%E0%A5%A6%E0%A5%AD%E0%A5%A9.pdf. 5 September 2017.
प्रेश विज्ञप्ति. Election Commission. Kathmandu. ne. 2017-09-03. Press release.
Web site: दल दर्ता गर्न आयोगमा ९५ वटा निवेदन. Gorkhapatraonline. Gorkhapatra Sansthan. 3 September 2017.
Web site: EC puts preliminary voter turnout of first phase polls at 65 per cent. The Kathmandu Post. 29 November 2017.
Web site: Nepal elections: ‘A significant achievement’. Al Jazeera. 29 November 2017.