The House of Representatives () is the lower house of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Nepal, with the upper house being the National Assembly. Members of the House of Representatives are elected through a parallel voting system. They hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the president on the advice of the council of ministers. The House meets in the under construction Parliament house at Singha Durbar; before the 2025 Gen Z protests, it met at the International Convention Centre.
The House has 275 members; 165 elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 elected through proportional electoral system where voters vote for political parties, considering the whole country as a single election constituency.Article 86 (2) Constitution of Nepal The House of Representatives, unless dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. However, in a state of emergency, the term of the House of Representatives may be extended, not exceeding one year in accordance with federal law.
The current House of Representatives was elected by the general election held on 5 March 2026, following the dissolution of the previous parliament by the president on 12 September 2025, as a result of the political unrest and Gen Z protest. The inaugural session of the current house convened on 2 April 2026.
History Parliament of Kingdom of Nepal, 1959–1962 The 1959 constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, proclaimed on 12 February 1959, first mentions the Pratinidhi Sabha first as follows: "There shall be a Parliament which shall consist of His Majesty and two Houses, to be known respectively as the Senate (Maha Sabha) and the House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabha)" (Article No. 18, Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1959).
The 1959 constitution was abrogated on 16 December 1962 when the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1962 was proclaimed and the parliament of the kingdom became unicameral.
Post-Panchayat, 1990–2002 The House of Representatives was first provided for by the "Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990", which replaced the former panchayat system of parliament with a bicameral parliament. It consisted of 205 members directly elected from single-member constituencies. It had five-year terms, but it could be dissolved by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister before the end of its term.
Dissolution, 2002–2007
In May 2002, the House of Representatives was dissolved by King Gyanendra on advice of the then prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, in order to hold new elections. Elections could not take place due to the ongoing civil war, which eventually led King Gyanendra to stage a royal coup. Following the democracy movement of 2006, the King reinstated the earlier legislature. On 15 January 2007, the House of Representatives was transformed into an Interim legislature. This consisted of members appointed under an agreement between the Seven Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (known by the name Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), since 2009).
Federal Parliament of Nepal, 2015–present The Constitution of Nepal was drafted by the 2nd Constituent Assembly and the provision for a bicameral legislature was re-adopted. The House of Representatives became the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal and its first election was held in 2017.
Members The composition and powers of the house are established by Parts 8 and 9 of the Constitution of Nepal. The qualifications for becoming a member of the House are laid out in Article 87 of the Constitution and House of Representatives Election Act, 2017. Members must be: a citizen of Nepal twenty five years or older on date of nomination without a criminal offense conviction involving moral turpitude not disqualified by any federal law not hold any office of profit (paid by the government). In addition to this, no member can be a member of both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.
Vacation of seat The seat of a member of House of Representatives may be considered vacant in the following circumstances: Written resignation to the Speaker Unable to comply to Article 91 Expired term of office / house Unclarified / uninformed absence for ten consecutive house sessions Resignation / removal from the party to which the candidate was associated during election Death
Composition by province ProvinceConstituenciesKoshi28Madhesh32Bagmati33Gandaki18Lumbini26Karnali12Sudurpashchim16
Officers of the House of Representatives
Speakers of the House of Representatives
NamePartyAssumed officeLeft officeTerm Krishna Prasad BhattaraiNepali Congress3 July 195915 December 19601st House of Representatives Daman Nath Dhungana23 June 19911 October 19942nd House of Representatives Ram Chandra Poudel18 December 199423 March 19993rd House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat23 June 199928 April 20064th House of Representatives Subas Chandra NembangCPN (UML)13 May 200615 January 2007Interim Legislature Krishna Bahadur MaharaCPN (Maoist Centre)10 February 20181 October 20195th House of Representatives Agni Prasad Sapkota26 January 202018 September 2022 Dev Raj GhimireCPN (UML)19 January 202319 January 20266th House of Representatives Dol Prasad AryalRastriya Swatantra Party5 April 2026Incumbent7th House of Representatives
Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives
NamePartyAssumed officeLeft officeTerm Mahendra Narayan NidhiNepali Congress31 March 196015 December 19601st House of Representatives Mahantha Thakur23 June 199117 December 19942nd House of Representatives Ram Vilas YadavRastriya Prajatantra Party18 December 199413 October 19973rd House of Representatives Lila Shrestha SubbaCPN (UML)6 May 199810 October 1998 Bhojraj Joshi14 October 199823 March 1999 rowspan="2" Chitra Lekha YadavNepali Congress29 June 199917 January 20074th House of RepresentativesInterim Legislature Shiva Maya TumbahampheCPN (UML)18 March 201820 January 20205th House of Representatives Pushpa BhusalNepali Congress15 July 202218 September 2022 Indira RanamagarRastriya Swatantra Party21 January 202328 December 20256th House of Representatives Ruby Kumari ThakurShram Sanskriti Party 10 April 2026Incumbent 7th House of Representatives
Terms of the House of Representatives Elected inTermSeatsStartEndElected prime minister(during term)PartyHead of StateParliament of the Kingdom of NepalMonarch19591st House of Representatives109May 1959December 1960 B. P. Koirala (Cabinet)Nepali CongressMahendra of Nepal19912nd House of Representatives205May 1991August 1994 Girija Prasad Koirala (Cabinet)Birendra of Nepal19943rd House of RepresentativesNovember 1994May 1999 Man Mohan Adhikari (Cabinet)CPN (UML) Sher Bahadur Deuba (Cabinet)Nepali Congress Lokendra Bahadur Chand (Cabinet)Rastriya Prajatantra PartySurya Bahadur Thapa (Cabinet) Girija Prasad Koirala (Cabinet)Nepali Congress19994th House of RepresentativesMay 1999May 2002 Krishna Prasad Bhattarai (Cabinet)Girija Prasad Koirala (Cabinet)Gyanendra of NepalSher Bahadur Deuba (Cabinet)Interim Legislature329April 2006April 2008 Girija Prasad Koirala (Cabinet)Federal Parliament of NepalPresident20175th House of Representatives2754 March 201818 September 2022 K. P. Sharma Oli (Cabinet)CPN (UML)Bidya Devi Bhandari Sher Bahadur Deuba (Cabinet)Nepali Congress 2022 6th House of Representatives 9 January 2023 12 September 2025 Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Cabinet)CPN (Maoist Centre)Ram Chandra Paudel K. P. Sharma Oli (Cabinet)CPN (UML) 2026 7th House of Representatives 26 March 2026 Balen Shah (Cabinet)Rastriya Swatantra Party
See also Rashtriya Sabha Rastriya Panchayat Elections in Nepal Federal Parliament of Nepal
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