KATHMANDU:- Candidate nominations for the upcoming House of Representatives (HoR) election under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) election system are being registered simultaneously in all 165 constituencies on Tuesday.

The Election Commission has also clarified that candidates may submit nomination papers through authorised representatives and has urged all candidates to comply strictly with electoral laws and the code of conduct.

Election officers’ offices have already been established in all 165 constituencies to facilitate the nomination process. The aspiring candidates wishing to contest the elections can submit their papers tomorrow between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.

Top leaders of political parties have headed to their respective constituencies to file their candidacies.

CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Communist Party coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and co-coordinator Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane, along with other senior party leaders, are all travelling to their constituencies to register their nominations.

The chairman of CPN-UML and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is filing his candidacy from Jhapa-5, while the former mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and leader of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Balendra Shah is Oli’s rival.

Similarly, Nepali Communist Party coordinator Prachanda is filing his nomination from Rukum East-1, co-coordinator Nepal from Rautahat-1 and Narayan Kaji Shrestha from Sarlahi-3.

The aspiring candidates must submit a copy of their Nepali citizenship certificate or voter ID card and provide proof that their name is included in the latest voter list of any rural municipality or municipality.

Candidates employed by the federal, provincial, or local government, or by any government-funded institution, must provide evidence of resignation from their position before filing their nomination, the EC added.

If a candidate is submitting their nomination through a party representative, a completed nomination form must be provided.

Each candidate is also required to submit a nomination form endorsed by two supporters, a proposer and a seconder, whose names appear in the final voter list of the constituency.

Candidates backed by political parties must attach a formal nomination letter issued by an authourised official of the party’s central executive committee or equivalent body.

Candidates must also deposit Rs. 10,000 as security with the relevant election officer, although women, Dalit, minority and economically disadvantaged candidates are eligible for a 50 per cent waiver upon submission of proof from the local authority.