Election Administration

The competences and structure of the Election Commission are set out in the Interim Constitution and further regulated by the Law Relating to Function, Duties and Powers of the Electoral Commission 2007. The Election Commission is responsible for organizing and conducting all elections and referenda in Nepal.  It was established as an independent body and entrusted with extensive responsibilities throughout the entire process: these include developing and enacting regulation to implement and, where necessary, complement legal provisions, preparing voter lists, registering political parties, conducting voter education activities and administering complaints.

The Election Commission is made up of the Chief Election Commissioner and four commissioners who were appointed in the second half of 2006 by the Prime Minister for a six-year period, upon recommendation from the Constitutional Council. Their decisions are implemented by an administrative structure of some 240,000 elections officials based in all 5 regions, 75 districts and 240 constituencies. The Election Commission has full authority to select and appoint its personnel, although it has to rely mostly on civil servants seconded by the Ministry of Education, and in the case of Returning Officers, judges. Significant assistance and advice has been provided by the UNMIN Electoral Assistance Office both centrally and at regional and district levels.

District Election Officer (75 DEO)

District election offices have been established in all 75 districts of Nepal to function as branches of the Election Commission. Under the authority of the Election Commission, the main duties of the District Election Offices are: to maintain a secure record of the voters’ list in the district itself; to verify the list on a regular basis and conduct necessary research and monitoring in order to update the list; to distribute voter identity cards to those who have lost theirs or have been added to the voter’s list; to arrange the safe storage of election materials; to keep the commission informed about the monitoring and/or violation of the Election Code of Conduct; to conduct necessary investigations according to commission directives and present a report to the Election commission; to prepare the voter’s list and present it to the Central Secretariat of the commission within the stipulated time; to run voter awareness programmes in coordination with the commission and other organisations; and to maintain a record of polling centres in the districts.  

Returning Officer (240 RO)

The Returning Officer is the chief electoral official in a constituency. In districts where there is more than one constituency, a Chief Returning Officer is appointed to co-ordinate between constituencies. He also acts as the Returning Officer for one of the constituencies in the district. Returning Officers are seconded judges and officers from the Judiciary.  They are granted large powers, including the authority to validate or annul nomination papers for candidate registration, to validate or annul ballot papers and to declare the results of vote counting.

For more information go to:

The Election Commission’s official website

The Election Commission Act

Nepal Election Portal