KATHMANDU: Parties are registering their candidacies for the by-election of the National Assembly of the Bagmati Pradesh on Friday.

According to the Election Commission (EC), the nominations can be filed from 10 am to 4 pm at the election office in Provincial capital Hetauda.

The post of a National Assembly member remained vacant after CPN (Maoist Center) took action against Ram Bahadur Thapa for defecting to CPN-UML.  Thapa had been elected as a member to the National Assembly representing CPN (Maoist Center).

The election will be held on May 20.

According to Rajkumar Shrestha, the spokesperson of the EC, a total of 348 voters – 110 provincial assembly members of Bagmati Pradesh, 238 including mayors and deputy mayors of municipalities and chairpersons and vice chairpersons of rural municipalities  can cast their votes in the by-elections.

Opposition parties including Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), Nepal-Khanal faction of the ruling UML have jointly decided to field Khim Lal Devkota against Thapa.

Devkota, who had resigned as the vice chairman of the policy and planning commission of Bagmati Pradesh in 2076 BS, holds PhD in development economics and a fiscal federalism and local government analyst.

A Standing Committee meeting of the UML held on Thursday made an assessment on whether Thapa would win the lections or not. Ruling UML will filed another candidate if it is uncertain that Thapa will not win the elections.

Similarly, the by-elections of the National Assembly of Lumbini Pradesh is taking place on May 31.