As vote counting continues in Nepal’s parliamentary elections, only five political parties appear on course to secure national party status under the country’s proportional representation system.
According to the latest figures released by the Election Commission, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, Nepal Communist Party (NCP), and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) have crossed the three per cent threshold required to qualify as national parties.
Under Nepal’s electoral rules, a party must win at least one seat through the first-past-the-post system and secure a minimum of three per cent of the total proportional votes to gain national party recognition in the House of Representatives.
With roughly a quarter of the proportional votes counted so far, the RSP, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have already comfortably crossed the required threshold. Even if they receive no additional votes in the remaining count, their current share of the total ballots cast ensures their national party status.
The Nepal Communist Party has secured around 6.5 per cent of the proportional vote so far. However, its final position will depend on how many additional votes it receives as counting continues.
The Rastriya Prajatantra Party has also crossed the threshold with a little over 3 per cent of the vote. To retain its national party status, the party must maintain a similar share as more ballots are counted.
Meanwhile, the Shram Sanskriti Party Nepal remains close to the threshold but has yet to cross it. The party has secured around two per cent of the proportional vote so far. Its leader, Harka Sampang, is currently leading in the Sunsari-1 constituency in the direct election race.
Based on current estimates of roughly 11 million votes cast nationwide, a party needs more than 300,000 votes under the proportional system to reach the required three per cent threshold.