Nepal Opens Candidate Nominations as Youth Challengers Press Oli Ahead of March 5 Election

Overview

• Candidate nominations open today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. across all 165 constituencies, with the commission setting time slots to keep the process orderly.
• Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari appealed for broad support and vowed a free, fair, impartial and fear‑free election.
• Former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah resigned, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party as its prime ministerial pick, and is set to file from Jhapa‑5 to challenge CPN‑UML chair K P Sharma Oli.
• Interim ministers Bablu Gupta and Jagdish Kharel quit their posts to run, with Gupta campaigning for the RSP and Kharel preparing to contest from Lalitpur‑2.
• The code of conduct took effect Sunday night as the commission finalized proportional representation lists and opened an objections window through January 24.