A PRACTITIONER’S GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO ELECTORAL JUSTICE Annex C: Nepal Case Study Country context The year 2022 was a busy year for Nepal, which held four elections in 11 months: the National Assembly elections in January, local elections in May, and the House of Representatives and provincial parliamentary elections in November. The local, provincial, and federal parliamentary elections were the second elections that have occurred since the new Constitution was adopted in 2015. The 2015 Constitution and 2017 Election Law provided for a gender quota,149 but observers have noted that even with the quota and other affirmative actions, such as application fee waivers for women candidates, challenges persist. These include the lack of commitment of political parties to nominate women to leadership positions and the lack of women in executive appointments. Nepal’s electoral justice system is decentralized, allowing for multiple points for reporting potential electoral offenses. However, issues with access to information, lack of capacity or political will by institutions to implement electoral reforms in a timely manner, and social, cultural and economic barriers that perpetuate restrictive and harmful gender roles can make it difficult for women – especially those in rural areas and from marginalized communities – to access electoral justice. Nepal’s Legislative Structure The Federal Parliament of Nepal consists of the National Assembly (the upper house) and the House of Representatives (the lower house). Of the 59 members of the National Assembly, 56 (eight members from each of the seven provinces) are elected indirectly by an electoral college in each province; the three remaining members are appointed by the president. Of the eight members from each province, three must be women, one must be from the Dalit community,150 and one must be a person with a disability or from a minority community. Additionally, one of the three National Assembly members appointed by the president must be a woman. National Assembly members serve six-year terms, with elections held every two years for one-third of the seats. Members of the House of Representatives are elected through a mixed electoral system: 165 of its 275 members are elected from singlemember constituencies through a first-past-the-post system, while the remaining 110 are elected via proportional representation from a closed party list, with the entire country considered one constituency. For the House of Representatives, the Electoral Law requires parties to elect at least 33 percent women in the Federal Parliament. Elections for the House of Representatives occur every five years. The election of the seven provincial assemblies is also based on a mixed system, with the same 60/40 divide between first-past-the-post and proportional representation. Women must account for one-third of total members elected from each party; if that proportion is not elected, the party must elect women as one-third of its total number through partylist proportional representation.151 For local-level elections, voters choose seven representatives as part of a first-past-the-post system, including the mayor of the municipality (or the chair of a rural municipality), the deputy mayor (or vice chair of a rural municipality), 149 The 2015 Constitution of Nepal ensures that women, Dalits, Aadibasi Janajati, Madhesi, Tharu, Muslims, backward classes, minorities, marginalized communities, persons with disabilities, gender and sexual minorities, farmers, laborers, oppressed or citizens of backward regions, and indigent Khas Arya shall have the right to participate in the State bodies on the basis of principle of proportional inclusion. The Constitution further states that at least one-third of the total number of members elected from each political party seated in the Federal Parliament and Provincial Assembly shall be women; this is further ensured by provisions in the federal and provincial laws. 150 The Dalit community represent the bottom of Nepal’s ancient caste-based system, in which they were formerly known as “untouchables.” Dalits constitute about 13 percent of Nepal’s population. 151 Article 176, Section 14 of the Constitution of Nepal (2015, September 20). 56