KATHMANDU: The Nepali Congress, which emerged as the largest party in the 2022 parliamentary elections, appears likely to be reduced to just 17 seats under the first-past-the-post system in the ongoing 2026 House of Representatives election.
In the 2022 election, the Nepali Congress had secured 57 direct seats to become the largest party. However, according to the latest results, the party has won only 17 constituencies so far and is not leading in any remaining races.
The early results of the proportional representation vote count also suggest a weaker-than-expected performance for the party. Observers say the Nepali Congress may struggle to secure more than 30 to 35 seats in total.
So far, the party has received 734,651 votes in the proportional representation tally, placing it second.
Meanwhile, the Rastriya Swatantra Party is on track to become the largest party, having secured 2,148,130 votes in the proportional count so far.
In the 2022 election, the Nepali Congress had received 2,585,090 proportional votes to become the second-largest party, the CPN-UML topped the proportional tally with 2,720,639 votes.
Out of the country’s 165 constituencies, results from only 10 constituencies are yet to be announced.
The Rastriya Swatantra Party has already secured 119 direct seats and is leading in six of the remaining constituencies. The UML has won seven seats and leads in three others, while the Nepal Communist Party has secured seven seats and is ahead in one constituency.
An independent candidate and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party have each won one seat. Meanwhile, the Shram Sanskriti Party led by Harka Sampang has secured three seats but is not leading in any additional constituencies.
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