Katmandu: Nepal’s Election Commission said on Wednesday that 125 political parties had registered to contest the first parliamentary polls since a mass uprising in September ousted the government.
Many are established parties, but some of the movements vying for seats in the March 2026 vote were formed by youth activists who helped launch the anti-corruption protests that shook the country earlier this year.
“We are working with a belief that all political parties and citizens are eager to bring a new leadership to the country through the election,” commission spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai told AFP.
Registration remains open for another two weeks.
The final list, including the exact number of new parties and those associated with youth groups, will be released after the November 18 deadline.
The September protests, triggered by a brief ban on social media, quickly morphed into a nationwide movement against economic hardship and government corruption.
Two days of violent unrest killed at least 73 people, and saw parliament, courts and government buildings set ablaze.
In the aftermath, former chief justice Sushila Karki, 73, was appointed interim prime minister to guide the Himalayan nation until elections.
Nepal’s political future remains uncertain, with deep public distrust of established parties posing a major challenge to holding credible elections.
But Bhattarai insisted the commission was determined to “conduct the election in a peaceful, impartial, and fear-free environment.”
Karki on October 29 held the first talks between political parties and youth representatives since the protests, attended by all major political parties including that of ousted premier KP Sharma Oli.
The unrest further weakened Nepal’s already fragile economy, with the World Bank warning in October that “heightened political and economic uncertainty are expected to cause growth to decline” to 2.1 percent.
The bank estimates a “staggering” 82 percent of Nepal’s workforce is in informal employment, with GDP per capita at $1,447 in 2024.
Nepal registers 125 parties for post-uprising polls
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Nepal registers 125 parties for post-uprising polls
- The final list, including the exact number of new parties and those associated with youth groups, will be released after the November 18 deadline
Ukraine president to meet European allies after Trump criticism
- Talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough
- President Donald Trump accuses Ukrainian leader of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia
LONDON: Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet with European allies in London on Monday, after President Donald Trump accused him of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia.
It comes after days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough, with Zelensky committing to further negotiations.
The Ukrainian president will be received in London by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with the German chancellor and French president to discuss the negotiations.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is meanwhile expected in Washington on Monday, where she will meet her American counterpart Marco Rubio.
“The UK and US will reaffirm their commitment to reaching a peace deal in Ukraine,” the Foreign Office in London said, announcing Cooper’s visit.
Moscow has meanwhile continued to strike its neighbor, wounding at least nine people overnight Sunday to Monday, according to Ukrainian officials.
‘Disappointed’
Zelensky said he joined his negotiators for a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during the Miami negotiations.
“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed “on the next steps and the format of the talks with America.”
But Trump criticized his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, telling reporters “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago.”
Witkoff and Kushner had met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin last week, with Moscow rejecting parts of the US proposal.
French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of Monday’s talks slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path.”
“We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible,” Macron wrote on X.
He added: “We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace.”
Hot and cold
Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the almost four-year war involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.
But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get has so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially embracing Putin and chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.
But he has also grown frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, including a summit in Alaska, have failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
