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The vote counting for the March 5 election in Nepal's House of Representatives has concluded late Wednesday, with Nepal's Election Commission (EC) making final preparations for the official announcement of results.
"The count is complete. But final results are yet to be published since data entry is still taking place," EC assistant spokesperson Kul Bahadur GC confirmed to ANI over the phone. The vote-counting process took a week to complete, he added. On Wednesday afternoon, the proportional representation (PR) votes for the House of Representatives were fully counted. According to the EC's data entry system, a total of 10,789,078 PR votes were counted nationwide. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), led by Rabi Lamichhane, received the highest number of votes under the PR system with 5,158,810 votes (47.82 per cent), maintaining a clear lead. At this stage, RSP is two seats short of a two-thirds majority. Having won 125 seats in the direct elections, the party is expected to secure 57 PR seats, although the final allocation may vary slightly once the commission completes the official seat distribution. The Nepali Congress secured 1,756,043 votes (16.28 per cent). With 18 direct seats, the party is projected to win an additional 20 PR seats, bringing its total to 38 seats, making it the second-largest party in the House. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) [CPN-UML] obtained 1,452,939 votes (13.47 per cent). With 9 direct seats, it will gain 16 PR seats, totalling 25 seats, making it the third-largest party. The Nepali Communist Party (NCP) led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' received 809,641 votes (7.5 per cent). With 7 direct seats, it is expected to gain 9 PR seats, bringing its total to 16 seats. The Shram Sanskriti Party, which became a national party in its first election, secured 385,748 votes (3.58 per cent). With 3 direct seats and 4 PR seats, it will have a total of 7 seats, making it the fifth-largest party. Similarly, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) cleared the 3 per cent threshold with 330,281 votes (3.06 per cent), winning 1 direct seat and 3 PR seats, totalling 4 seats. In the previous election, RPP held 14 seats, but it is now limited to 5. Its chairman, Rajendra Lingden, lost in Jhapa-3. According to the estimated tally, the RSP, affiliated with former rapper and Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, is expected to win 182 seats, while Nepali Congress is projected at 38 seats, CPN (UML) 25 seats, and NCP 16 seats. The Shram Sanskriti Party is expected to get 7 seats, RPP 5 seats, and Independents 1 seat. A total of 138 seats is required to form a government, while 184 seats are needed for a two-thirds majority. Currently, the RSP is two seats short of this mark. If Mahabir Pun, who won in Myagdi, joins, RSP would reach 183 seats, but he has stated that he will remain independent. In Dhanusha-1, the RSP candidate Kishori Sah Kamal's candidacy was cancelled, although over 23,000 votes were cast for her. Following the cancellation, the EC issued the certificate to NCP candidate Matrika Yadav. The Supreme Court is scheduled to review the case on March 13. If the court overturns the cancellation, the RSP could achieve a two-thirds majority. (ANI)
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