KATHMANDU: Vote counting for the first-past-the-post seats in Nepal’s House of Representatives election is nearing completion. Of the 165 constituencies across the country, results from 161 have already been announced.
According to the Election Commission, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Nepali Congress, and CPN-UML are leading the count in one constituency each, while the result of one constituency has been withheld due to a pending court case.
Fourteen women have been elected to the House of Representatives under the FPTP system. Of them, 13 are from the RSP, which has secured a clear majority and is heading for a two-thirds majority.
Women elected from the RSP include Nisha Dangi, Indira Rana Magar, Asha Jha, Rubina Acharya, Pushpa Kumari Chaudhary, Gauri Kumari, Nitima Karki, Aashika Tamang, Ranju Neupane, Toshima Karki, Sobita Gautam, Bina Gurung, and Komal Gyawali.
NC has won 17 FPTP seats. However, this includes only one woman. No women candidates from the UML, the Shram Sanskriti Party, or the Nepali Communist Party (NCP).
The RSP had fielded 16 women candidates, the UML 12, and the Nepali Congress (NC) 11.
Province-wise, Lumbini is the only province without women’s representation under the FPTP out of the seven provinces in the country.
Nine women were elected under the FPTP system in 2022. They included Jwala Kumari Sah, Bhagawati Chaudhary, Julie Kumari Mahato, and Bidhya Bhattarai from the UML; Sobita Gautam and Toshima Karki from the RSP; Rekha Sharma from the then CPN (Maoist Center); Sita Gurung from the NC; and Ranjita Shrestha Chaudhary from the Nagarik Unmukti Party.
KOSHI PROVINCE
Nisha Dangi: RSP candidate Nisha Dangi was elected from Jhapa-1 with 45,680 votes. Her closest rival, Keshav Raj Pandey of the NC, received 10,570 votes. Dangi had previously served as a proportional representation lawmaker in the House of Representatives following the 2022 election.
Indira Rana Magar: RSP candidate Indira Rana Magar won Jhapa-2 with 60,110 votes. She defeated UML candidate Devraj Ghimire, who secured 11,368 votes. Interestingly, Ghimire served as Speaker and Rana Magar as Deputy Speaker of the dissolved parliament. Rana Manage was elected under the PR system in 2022.
Asha Jha: Another RSP candidate, Asha Jha, was elected from Morang-5 with 30,434 votes. Her nearest rival, Phool Kumar Lalwani of NC, received 9,415 votes.
Rubina Acharya: In Morang-6, Rubina Acharya of the RSP was elected with 55,513 votes. Her closest competitor, Dr Shekhar Koirala of NC, received 12,850 votes. Acharya had previously served as a central committee member of the Bibeksheel Nepal Party before joining the RSP.
MADHESH PROVINCE
Pushpa Kumari Chaudhary: In Saptari-1, RSP candidate Pushpa Kumari Chaudhary won with 38,195 votes. She defeated Sumit Kumar of the Swabhiman Party, who received 7,847 votes.
Gauri Kumari: RSP candidate Gauri Kumari was elected from Mahottari-4 with 30,132 votes. She defeated Surendra Kumar Yadav of the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal, who secured 8,742 votes.
Nitima Bhandari (Karki): Nitima Bhandari Karki of the RSP won Sarlahi-1 with 44,181 votes. Her closest rival, NC candidate Shambhu Lal Shrestha, received 7,871 votes.
BAGMATI PROVINCE
Aashika Tamang: RSP candidate Aashika Tamang won Dhading-1 with 39,128 votes. She defeated Bhoomi Prasad Tripathi of UML, who received 15,032 votes.
Ranju Neupane (Ranju Darshana): Ranju Neupane won Kathmandu-1 with 15,455 votes. She defeated Prabal Thapa Chhetri of NC, who secured 6,364 votes. Neupane began her political career with the Bibeksheel Nepali Party before joining the RSP ahead of the election. She had previously contested the Kathmandu mayoral race in 2017.
Dr Toshima Karki: Dr Tosima Karki was re-elected from Lalitpur-3 with 43,096 votes. She defeated Jitendra Kumar Shrestha of the NC, who received 945 votes.
Sobita Gautam: RSP candidate Sobita Gautam won Chitwan-3 with 59,277 votes. She defeated former Bharatpur Mayor Renu Dahal of the Nepali Communist Party, who secured 20,615 votes. Gautam is a central committee member of the RSP and had previously won from Kathmandu-2 in the 2022 election.
GANDAKI PROVINCE
Bina Gurung: In Kaski-3, RSP candidate Bina Gurung secured victory with 37,750 votes. She defeated NC candidate Manoj Gurung, who could manage only 12,720 votes.
KARNALI PROVINCE
Basana Thapa: NC candidate Basana Thapa won Dailekh-1 with 12,372 votes. She defeated UML candidate Rabindra Raj Sharma, who secured 11,796 votes. She is the only woman elected from the Nepali Congress under the FPTP election.
SUDURPASHCHIM PROVINCE
Komal Gyawali: RSP candidate Komal Gyawali won Kailali-1 with 17,826 votes. She defeated Janak Raj Chaudhary of the NC, who received 12,867 votes. Gyawali had previously joined the RSP from the Nagarik Unmukti Party and secured victory on her first attempt.
