Government & politics — Nepal

the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas apparently gave their name to the country; the terms "Nepal," "Newar," "Nepar," and "Newal" are phonetically different forms of the same word

• Constitution Day, 20 September (2015)
• note - marks the promulgation of Nepal’s constitution in 2015 and replaces the previous 28 May Republic Day as the official national day in Nepal
• the Gregorian day fluctuates based on Nepal’s Hindu calendar

• history: several previous; latest approved by the Second Constituent Assembly 16 September 2015, signe
• d by the president and effective 20 September 2015 amendments: proposed as a bill by either house of the Federal Parliament; bills affecting a state border or powers delegated to a state must be submitted to the affected state assembly; passage of such bills requires a majority vote of that state assembly membership; bills not requiring state assembly consent require at least two-thirds majority vote by the membership of both houses of the Federal Parliament; parts of the constitution on the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty vested in the people cannot be amended; amended 2016, 2020

• chief of state: Presiden
• t Ram Chandra POUDEL (since 13 March 2023) head of government: Prime M
• inister Khadga Prasad Sharma OLI (since 15 July 2024) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; cabinet positions shared among Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre,
• and various coalition partners election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by an electoral college of the Federal Parliament and the state assemblies for a 5-yea
• r term (eligible for a second term) most recent election date: 9
• March 2023 election results: 2023: Ram Chandra POUDEL elected president; electoral college vote - Ram Chandra POUDEL (NC) 33,802, Subash Chandra NEMBANG (CPN-UML) 15,518 2018: Bidhya Devi BHANDARI reelected president; electoral vote - Bidhya Devi BHANDARI (CPN-UML) 39,275, Kumari Laxmi RAI (NC) 11,730
• expected date of next election: 2028

Description

bicameral Federal Parliament consists of: National Assembly (59 seats; 56 members, including at least 3 women, 1 Dalit, 1 member with disabilities, or 1 minority indirectly elected by an electoral college of state and municipal government leaders, and 3 members, including 1 woman, nominated by the president of Nepal on the recommendation of the government; members serve 6-year terms with renewal of one-third of the membership every 2 years) House of Representatives (275 seats; 165 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 110 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by closed-list proportional representation vote, with a threshold of 3% overall valid vote to be allocated a seat; members serve 5-year terms);

Note

the House of Representatives was dissolved on 22 May 2021, but on 13 July, the Supreme Court directed its reinstatement

Elections

• National Assembly - last held on 26 January 2022 (next to be held in 2024) House of Representatives - last held on 20 November 2022 (next to be held in November 2027)

Election Results

• - National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA
• seats by party - CPN-UML 42, NC 13, FSFN 2, RJPN 2;

Composition

• men 37, women 22, percent of women 37.3% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA
• seats by party - NC 89, CPN-UML 78, CPN-MC 32, RSP 20, RPP 14, PSP-N 12, CPN (Unified Socialist) 10, Janamat Party 6, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party 4, other 10;

Composition

men 184, women 91, percent of women 33.1%

• highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief ju
• stice and up to 20 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, a 5-member, high-level advisory body headed by the prime minister; other judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Judicial Council, a 5-member advisory body headed by the chief justice; the chief justice serves a 6-year term;
• judges serve until age 65 subordinate courts: High Court; district courts

• Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) or CPN-MC [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL]
• Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or CPN-UML [Khadga Prasad OLI]
• Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) or CPN-US [Madhav Kumar NEPAL]
• Janamat Party [Chandra Kant RAUT]
• Janata Samajbaadi Party or JSP [Upendra YADAV]
• Loktantrik Samajwadi Party or LSP [Mahantha THAKUR]
• Naya Shakti Party, Nepal [Baburam BHATTARAI]
• Nepali Congress or NC [Sher Bahadur DEUBA]
• Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party (Nepal Workers' and Peasants' Party) or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE]
• Rastriya Janamorcha (National People's Front) [Chitra Bahadur K.C.]
• Rastriya Prajatantra Party (National Democratic Party) or RPP [Rajendra Prasad LINGDEN]
• Rastriya Swatantra Party or RSP [Rabi LAMICHHANE]

• no residency requirement for naturalization: 15 years

ADB, BIMSTEC, CD, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Dean R. THOMPSON (since October 2022) embassy: Maharajgunj, Kathmandu mailing address: 6190 Kathmandu Place, Washington DC 20521-6190

telephone

[977] (1) 423-4000

FAX

[977] (1) 400-7272

Email address and website

• usembktm@state.gov
• https://np.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador Sridhar KHATRI (since 19 April 2022)

chancery

2730 34th Place NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone

[1] (202) 667-4550

FAX

[1] (202) 667-5534

Email address and website

• info@nepalembassyusa.org
• https://us.nepalembassy.gov.np/

consulate(s) general

New York