Numbers lag behind constitutional spirit
Recent reporting based on nomination data indicates that out of 3,486 candidates competing for the 165 first-past-the-post constituencies, only 11.35 percent are women. Major parties have again fielded relatively few women directly, preferring to meet the constitutional floor of one-third representation largely through proportional representation lists.
The Election Commission had publicly urged parties to nominate women for at least one-third of their FPTP candidacies, but this remains only an advisory, not a binding quota. Gender experts argue that this gap between principle and practice undermines the credibility of inclusion commitments.
Regional variations and activist pushback
In provinces such as Sudurpashchim, women’s candidacy remains low overall, though some Terai constituencies show slightly higher participation. Individual women leaders have resisted being confined to proportional lists and demanded direct tickets to demonstrate electoral legitimacy.
Civil society groups and former members of the Constituent Assembly have revived demands for legal guarantees of 50 percent women’s candidacy in direct races, arguing that without clear obligations, parties are unlikely to change entrenched selection practices.