Political Parties of Nepal : : Nepal Election Portal

Registration of Political Parties

Political Parties are an essential part of modern democracy. Nepal�s Constitution requires political parties to register with the Election Commission in order to stand for election. There are certain conditions that the Election Commission requires political parties to fulfill for registration.

The Interim Constitution of Nepal calls for the following provisions for a political party to register with the Election Commission:

Any political party wishing to secure recognition from the Election Commission for the purposes of elections shall be required to register its name with the Election Commission as per the procedure determined by the Commission.
Parties applying for registration should have a written constitution and manifesto.
Parties shall clarify the other details such as: the name of the party, office of its central office, names and addresses of the members of its executive committee.
Parties must be democratic.
The party must be committed to the principles established in the Constitution of Nepal.
The party must uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of Nepal.
Parties are expected to hold internal election for its office bearers every 5 years.
The party should ensure certain levels of representation for minority and under-represented groups among its election candidates.
The source of income of the proposed political party and details of such sources.
There should be the provision for inclusiveness of members from neglected and suppressed regions including Women and Dalits, in the executive committee.
The Constitution of the party should have an effective system of making the members disciplined.
The Election Commission shall not register a party if any Nepali citizen is discriminated against on the basis of religion, caste, tribe, language or sex.
Parties must have a flag.
The party will not be registered if its name, objectives, insignia or flag is of a nature that would disturb the religious or communal harmony or of the nature to divide the country, or if the party constitution rules are for purposes or protecting and promoting a partyless single party system of governance.
A list of signatures of at least 10 thousand voting supporters is to be submitted along with the application for registration of any party outside the parliament.
Political parties with objectives contrary to the spirit and norms of the preamble of this constitution shall not be considered qualified for party registration.

Only parties that live up to the conditions are entitled to receive national symbols for their candidates. Parties who do not meet the criteria are disqualified. Those who apply as independent candidates for election are distributed symbols by the Election Commission itself.