The Election Commission is preparing to extend the deadline for filing nominations under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5.
According to a source at the commission, preparations are underway to extend the nomination filing period by a few days following requests from various political parties.
"The overall election schedule will not be pushed back, but the nomination filing window may be extended by a few days," the source said. "A formal decision is yet to be made."
According to the election schedule, parties are required to file nominations under the FPTP system on January 20. However, the commission is preparing to extend this period by at least two days, likely pushing the deadline to January 22, the source said.
Earlier, the Nepali Congress faction led by former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba visited the commission and requested more time for filing nominations. The Deuba faction has also filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court, seeking an order to extend the nomination filing period.
Having moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission's recent decision to recognize the new committee elected by the party’s special general convention, the Deuba faction reached the commission on Sunday to demand a suspension of election activities until the court reaches a verdict.
“Since we have filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the Election Commission’s illegal, unconstitutional, unlawful, and mala fide decision regarding the Nepali Congress, we inform the Election Commission, along with a copy of that petition, that all election-related activities of the commission should be suspended until the Supreme Court delivers its verdict,” Min Bishwakarma, outgoing chief of the party’s publicity department, told Setopati.
In the petition filed on Sunday, the Deuba faction has demanded a halt to the candidate selection process, annulment of the Election Commission’s decision, and dissolution of the central committee elected by the special general convention.
Furthermore, they have sought a writ of mandamus to stop the nomination of candidates for the House of Representatives election and set a new date for filing candidacies.
