Kathmandu. The Election Commission (EC) has said it is studying the documents of 15 political parties that have applied for the registration of new political parties.

According to the EC, 10 parties had applied for the registration of the party before the announcement of the election to the House of Representatives on March 4 and five after the announcement.

Normally, an application can be made for the registration of a party at the EC at any time, but in the context of the formation of a new government after the Jenji movement, the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the announcement of elections, the process of party registration has been seen with the participation of the younger generation. Spokesperson of the Commission, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, said that the applications will be approved by those who have reached the process.

Following the announcement of the election, Labor Culture Party led by Mayor Harka Sangpang had filed an application for party registration on September 23. Similarly, the Nepal Liberal Party led by Gopilal Neupane had filed an application for registration of the party on October 18 with a ‘coin’ symbol.

The Nepal Nagarik Party led by advocate Dr Surendra Bhandari had filed an application at the EC on September 9 for registration. On October 14, the Dynamic Democratic Party led by Dinesh Raj Prasain had filed an application for registration of the party with the demand of ‘Jyoti’ as the election symbol.

Rastriya Genji Party Nepal led by Hira Prasad Soti has submitted an application at the EC on October 18 for party registration. The party has demanded the ‘Cross Khukri’ election symbol.

EC Spokesperson Bhattarai said that the EC would take a decision based on the prevailing system and practice as no one has so far received the name of the party and the ‘cross khukri’ election symbol.

According to him, the EC did not get approval for the registration of 10 political parties as they did not have the documents registered before the announcement of the elections.

Among them are Ujjyalo Nepal and National Parivartan Party. The commission has been issuing a decision within 45 days of the application for registration. A total of 122 political parties were registered at the EC but now the two parties have split to 124.

Documents required for party registration

According to the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 and the Political Party Act, 2073, the applicant should furnish a copy of the party’s statute, regulation and manifesto 2 and 2 copies of the party’s statute, logo, seal, chosen election symbol, name and address of the party’s head office, name and address of the members and other office-bearers of the central executive committee or its equivalent, the fund of the source of income of the party and the source of the fund.

Likewise, the democratic system in the statute or regulation or the democratic provision in the statute or regulation, the provision of election of office-bearers of each level of the party at least once in five years, the inclusion of women and Dalits and other members from the neglected and oppressed areas in the executive committees of different levels, effective provisions to discipline the members of the party in the party statute and selection of the central working committee by the central assembly. Decisions have to be taken regarding which election symbol to keep the statute, flag and logo.

Similarly, a certified copy of the citizenship certificate of the central office-bearer, the application for registration of the application, the statute, the regulations and the signatures of all the office-bearers of the central committee should be enclosed in the declaration.