Only one woman elected among 17 female candidates in Far-west province

Dhangadhi: Out of 17 female candidates who contested the House of Representatives elections in Far West Province, only one has been elected. Among the 16 constituencies in the province, eight women participated in the race, but only Komal Gyawali of the National Independent Party emerged victorious from Kailali Constituency No. 1.

Gyawali secured 17,826 votes, defeating Nepali Congress candidate Janakraj Chaudhary, who received 12,867 votes, with a margin of 4,959 votes. Other candidates in the constituency, Rupakumar Chaudhary from the Aam Janata Party and Sunita Bhandari from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, were also defeated.

In Kanchanpur Constituency No. 1, four women contested: Bina Magar of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), Rupa Devi Bista and Manju Devi Sunar as independent candidates, and Sita BK of the Aam Janata Party. Janak Singh Dhami of the National Independent Party won with 24,332 votes, while Bina Magar received 11,110 votes.

Premwati Rana of the Civil Liberation Party contested from Kanchanpur Constituency No. 2 and received 560 votes. The seat was won by RSP candidate Deepak Raj Bohara with 33,952 votes.

In Kailali Constituency No. 2, female candidates Laxmi Punmagar of the Nepal Workers and Farmers Party and Samjhana Bista Thapa of Miteri Party Nepal were defeated, with KP Khanal of the National Independent Party winning 19,057 votes. From Kailali Constituency No. 3, Junu Mahatara Shahi and Sushila Thapa Magar were defeated, while Jagat Prasad Joshi of the Rashtriya Janamorcha won with 20,359 votes.

In Kailali Constituency No. 5, Shobhamani Joshi (Rashtriya Janamorcha), Trishna Punmagar (Nepal Workers and Kisan Party), and Radhika Kumari Kami (Miteri Party) were also defeated. Ananda Bahadur Chand of the Rashtriya Janamorcha won with 31,953 votes.

Similarly, female candidates Amrita Bhul (Nepal Workers and Kisan Party) and Saraswati Kumari Pal Malla (Miteri Party) from Doti were defeated. Nepali Congress candidate Bharat Bahadur Khadka won the seat with 14,897 votes. In Kailali Constituency No. 4, Khemraj Koirala of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was elected with 28,556 votes.

This outcome highlights the low representation of women in Far West Province’s parliamentary elections, with only one female candidate securing a seat.