Early general elections were held in Nepal on 5 March 2026 to elect the 275 members of the House of Representatives as announced on 12 September 2025 by the President of Nepal, on the recommendation of the government of Nepal. The election was called after youth protests in September 2025 led to the resignation of Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli. The Rastriya Swatantra Party, led by Rabi Lamichhane with Balen Shah as their candidate for prime minister, won a landslide victory, gaining a majority in the House of Representatives without the need for a coalition for the first time since 1999.

Voters cast in two separate ballots in the election: one to elect 165 members from single-member constituencies via FPTP, and the other to elect the remaining 110 members from a single nationwide constituency via party-list proportional representation, as mentioned in article 84 of the Constitution of Nepal. Over 18.9 million people were registered to vote in the election. More than 3,400 candidates from 68 parties contested the election.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party secured 182 seats, an almost supermajority, and the second-best showing in Nepal's electoral history, only surpassed by the Nepali Congress in the 1959 elections. The party's proportional vote share of 47.8% was the highest recorded since the system was introduced in 2008.

The Nepali Congress suffered their worst-ever electoral defeat, winning 38 seats with 19.1% of the proportional vote, party president Gagan Thapa being among those who lost their seat.

The two major leftist parties, CPN (UML) and Nepali Communist Party, placed third and fourth respectively. CPN (UML) faced their worst-ever election result, winning 25 seats with 13.4% of the proportional vote with party chairman and former prime minister K .P. Sharma Oli also losing his constituency. The Nepali Communist Party, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, won 17 seats and 7.5% of the vote, but party co-cordinator and former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal lost his seat.

The Shram Sanskriti Party, led by Harka Sampang, qualified as a national party with seven seats and 3.56% of the votes. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party, led by Rajendra Lingden, won five seats and 3.05% of the vote.

Background

The 2026 general election was precipitated by a period of acute socio-economic instability and a total breakdown of trust between the state and Nepal's youth. By mid-2025, public frustration reached a zenith over rampant corruption, high youth unemployment, and the perceived nepotism of the political elite, often criticized through the viral "#NepoKid" and "#NepoBabies" social media trends. This discontent was further exacerbated by a stagnant economy and a record-breaking "brain drain", as thousands of skilled workers migrated daily for employment abroad, contrasting sharply with the opulent lifestyles of politicians' families displayed on digital platforms.

The immediate catalyst for the unrest was the government's decision on 4 September 2025 to ban 26 social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp, citing their failure to register under new, restrictive digital guidelines. This digital blackout was widely perceived as an attempt to stifle dissent and dismantle communication networks used by activists. In response, a leaderless movement predominantly organized by Generation Z students erupted on 8 September 2025. Thousands of protesters, many in school uniforms, converged at Maitighar Mandala and marched toward the Federal Parliament Building, demanding an end to the ban and the resignation of the government.

The situation escalated into what local media termed a "Day of Rage" when security forces used live ammunition to quell the crowds. By 9 September, at least 76 people had been killed and over 2,000 injured as protesters set fire to several government structures, including the Prime Minister's Office at Singha Durbar and the residences of high-ranking officials. Amidst the total collapse of civilian governance and mass resignations within his cabinet, Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli resigned on 9 September 2025. The following days saw the military assume control of security in the Kathmandu Valley to stabilize the region after the Prime Minister and several other senior leaders were evacuated from their residences.

On 12 September 2025, President Ram Chandra Paudel dissolved the 6th House of Representatives to pave the way for a fresh mandate. Invoking Article 61 of the Constitution to safeguard national unity during the crisis, the President appointed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as the interim Prime Minister. Karki, known for her record of judicial independence, became the first woman to lead a government in Nepal's history. Her interim administration was tasked exclusively with stabilizing the country and conducting free and fair elections within a six-month window, a mandate she reaffirmed by appointing a cabinet consisting largely of technocrats and civil society leaders.

Following the constitutional reset, the President announced that the general election for the 275 seats of the House of Representatives would take place on 5 March 2026. Crucially, this snap poll was limited to the federal lower house; there were no concurrent elections for the Provincial Assemblies, as those bodies were not dissolved during the September crisis. The election period saw a massive surge in voter registration, with nearly 19 million citizens eligible, including over 800,000 first-time voters from the generation that led the September protests. The 5 March date was selected to provide sufficient time for the reconstruction of damaged state infrastructure and the restoration of public services disrupted during the uprising.

Timetable The electoral timeline for the 7th House of Representatives election was established under a condensed "fast-track" schedule to transition from the interim administration of Sushila Karki back to a fully elected civilian government. Following the formal dissolution of the 6th House of Representatives on 12 September 2025, the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) was mandated to execute all logistical and legal requirements for a nationwide poll within a 150-day window. This period was marked by high administrative pressure to update voter rolls that had been disrupted by the September unrest.

The initial phase focused on voter and party registration, which saw an unprecedented surge in activity. Following multiple requests from the interim Prime Minister to ensure no citizen was disenfranchised, the ECN extended the registration deadline to 21 November 2025. This extension facilitated the registration of approximately 800,000 first-time voters, predominantly from the "Gen Z" demographic. By the party registration deadline on 26 November, a record 143 political parties had applied for recognition, reflecting the fragmentation and emergence of new political forces in the wake of the protests.

The Proportional Representation (PR) process began in late December 2025, requiring parties to submit preliminary closed lists that adhered to strict constitutional quotas for gender, ethnicity, and regional representation. The ECN allocated 110 of the 275 seats through this system to ensure the inclusivity of marginalized groups, including Dalits, Janajatis, and Madhesis. This phase was critical for the "new wave" parties, which sought to maximize their parliamentary presence through the PR ballot, given the high barrier of entry in direct First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) contests.

On 19 January 2026, the ECN enforced a rigorous Election Code of Conduct, which prohibited the use of government resources for campaigning, restricted the size of political banners, and banned the use of children in rallies. The following day, candidate nominations for the 165 FPTP seats were filed nationwide, with over 3,400 candidates entering the fray. The security environment during this period was managed by a combined force of 320,000 personnel from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and the Nepal Army to prevent a resurgence of the violence seen in late 2025.

The final month of the timetable was dedicated to an intensive two-week campaign period, which concluded with a "silence period" beginning 48 hours before the polls. Election day on 5 March 2026 saw nearly 19 million eligible voters head to the polls across 165 constituencies. Unlike the 2022 cycle, these elections were conducted solely for the federal House of Representatives; provincial assembly elections were deferred as those bodies remained intact through the 2025 crisis.

The key dates are listed below:

Date Event 12 September 2025 6th House of Representatives dissolved Cabinet announces election date 21 November 2025 Last date to register to be on electoral roll 26 November 2025 Last day for party registration at Election Commission 28–29 December 2025 Parties submit preliminary closed list for proportional representation 19 January 2026 Election code of conduct starts 20 January 2026 Candidate nomination for first past the post 23 January 2026 Candidate list for first past the post finalized and published 3 February 2026 Closed list for proportional representation finalized and published 5 March 2026 Election day

Electoral system The 275 members of the legislature are elected by two methods; 165 are elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 seats are elected by closed list proportional representation from a single nationwide constituency.Article 84 Constitution of Nepal Voters receive separate ballot papers for the two methods. A party or electoral alliance has to pass the election threshold of 3% of the overall valid vote to be allocated a seat in the proportional vote. Nepal uses the Webster method to allocate proportional seats.

Voting is limited to Nepali citizens aged 18 or over of sound mind and not having been declared ineligible under federal election fraud and punishment laws. On 27 December 2025, the Election Commission published a final voter list of 18,903,689 voters.

Eligibility to vote To vote in the general election, one must be:

On the electoral roll Aged 18 or over on 3 March A citizen of Nepal Of sound mind Not ineligible as per federal election fraud and punishment laws

Pre-election arrangement

Party Parliamentary Party Leader 2022 results At dissolution PR Votes (%) Seats Sher Bahadur Deuba 25.71 K. P. Sharma Oli 26.95 Pushpa Kamal Dahal 11.13 Rabi Lamichhane 10.70 Rajendra Prasad Lingden 5.58 Ashok Rai C. K. Raut 3.74 Upendra Yadav 3.99 Madhav Kumar Nepal 2.83 Nagarik Unmukti Party Ranjeeta Shrestha 2.57 Mahantha Thakur 1.58 Prem Suwal 0.71 0.44 Aam Janata Party Prabhu Sah

Campaign

Nepali Congress After months of disagreement on electing a new leadership before the election, a majority of party delegates held a special general convention which elected Gagan Thapa as party president. Thapa was also announced as a prime ministerial candidate from the party. The party fielded candidates in all 165 constituencies, Thapa decided to contest the election from Sarlahi 4 instead of Kathmandu 4 where he had won in the last three elections. Ex-party president and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka, and Ramesh Lekhak who had been home minister during the Gen Z protests did not contest the election.

The party's campaign focused on the new generation taking over the leadership of the party and their image as a "renewed" party. The party started its campaign rally from Janakpur on 18 February 2026. It conducted major campaign rallies in major cities of Surkhet, Banke, Butwal, Pokhara, Birgunj and Baglung.