As many as 81 political parties were registered at the Election Commission (EC) for participation in the local level elections scheduled for May 14 as the deadline for registration ended on Wednesday.

The EC on February 26 asked the political parties, who had provided their details in district-based election offices, to register themselves centrally for participation in the local level elections. The number of political parties varies in different districts, with Kathmandu featuring the highest number of registered parties at 45 and Manang with the lowest at seven.

“Although more parties have been registered centrally, the number will go down after segregation on the basis of region,” said EC Spokesperson Surya Sharma. “We will compare the registration of parties both at the central and district levels to plan the ballot papers.” The EC, however, made it clear in its notice that whoever has registered in the districts will be eligible to participate in the elections. This provision has left the door open to the Madhes-centric parties who have decided not to follow the latest EC notice, although they had registered themselves at district-based election offices.

As many as 113 political parties have registered themselves with the EC to carry out political activities since the release of the latest notice. Article 269 of the constitution says only the listed parties must register themselves with the EC for participation in the elections.