At stake in this election:

• 601 seats in the Constituent Assembly (Sambidhan Sabha).

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ram Baran YADAV[1]
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Khil Raj REGMI[2]
• Assembly: Nepal had a unicameral Constituent Assembly (Sambidhan Sabha) with 601 seats. The Constituent Assembly was an interim legislature established in 2008 tasked with writing a new constitution. It was dissolved in May 2012, with the current election set to elect a replacement.

Description of electoral system:

• In the Constituent Assembly (Sambidhan Sabha), 240 members are elected by plurality vote in first-past-the-post single-member constituencies, 335 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system and 26 members are appointed by the Cabinet.[3]

Main Parties in the Electoral Race:

• Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN(M)) / एकीकृत नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (माओवादी)
  • Leader: Pushpa Kamal DAHAL (Prachanda)
  • Seats won in last election: 220; Nominated seats: 9
• Nepali Congress / नेपाली काँग्रेस
  • Leader: Sushil KOIRALA
  • Seats won in last election: 110; Nominated seats: 5
• Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) / नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (एकिकृत मार्क्सवादी–लेनवादी)
  • Leader: Jhala Nath KHANAL
  • Seats won in last election: 103; Nominated seats: 5
• Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal (MJF) / मधेसी जन अधिकार फोरम, नेपाल
  • Leader: Upenda YADAV
  • Seats won in last election: 52; Nominated seats: 2
• Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP) / तराई-मधेश लोकतान्त्रिक पार्टी
  • Leader: Mahanta THAKUR
  • Seats won in last election: 20[4]; Seats nominated: 1
• Sadbhavana Party / सद्-भावना पार्टी
  • Leader: Rajendra MAHATO
  • Seats won in last election: 9
• Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) / राष्ट्रिय प्रजातन्त्र पार्टी
  • Leader: Pashupati SJB RANA
  • Seats won in last election: 8

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 30,430,267 (July 2013 est.)
• Registered Voters: 12,200,000 (October 2013 est.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 14,339,464 (2013)

·         Is Nepal a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (5 February 1991)

·         Has Nepal ratified CEDAW: Yes (22 April 1991)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 172 (following the 2013 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 145 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Nepal a signatory to CRPD: Yes (3 January 2008)

·         Has Nepal ratified CRPD: Yes (7 May 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 4,564,540 (est.)