Kathmandu: The government has amended election-related laws to adjust proportional representation quotas based on updated population figures from the National Census 2078. For this purpose, the Council of Ministers has approved an ordinance and forwarded it to the President for promulgation.
The ordinance introduces legal provisions to determine population-based representation percentages for Dalit, Indigenous Nationalities, Khas Arya, Madhesi, Tharu and Muslim communities in elections to the House of Representatives.
A Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to revise the Election Act in accordance with the latest census data to ensure that the representation of various communities accurately reflects current population statistics.
Minister for Communication and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel said the ordinance amends the schedule of the House of Representatives Members Act, 2074, incorporating updated population figures of the specified communities.
Prior to the amendment, discussions were held at the Election Commission, following which a six-member committee was formed under the coordination of Subhash Kumar Bhattarai, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The committee included representatives from the Election Commission, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, and the National Statistics Office.
The committee was mandated to calculate inclusion-based representation percentages in line with the national census and submit its report within three days. Based on the National Census 2078, the committee finalized the revised population-based quotas.
Under the electoral system, 165 of the 275 members of the House of Representatives will be elected through the direct electoral system, while the remaining 110 seats will be filled through the proportional representation system.
Political parties will be required to submit closed lists of candidates reflecting the updated population percentages. The allocation of proportional representation seats will be determined by the number of votes secured by each party. The government stated that the ordinance provides the necessary legal framework to implement these provisions.
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