Proportional Representation Vote Counting Nears End; Seat Allocation Formula Detailed

Kathmandu. The vote counting for the proportional representation (PR) category of the House of Representatives election is reaching its final stage. So far, 10,396,273 votes have been counted, with only a few hundred thousand votes remaining to be tallied.

A separate method has been determined for allocating seats according to the proportional representation system.

• How is the allocation done?

First, the total valid votes are calculated by summing the votes received by all parties. Then, the percentage of the total valid votes that each party has received is calculated.

Among the 10,396,273 votes counted so far, various parties have received votes as follows. These figures are presented along with the calculated percentage compared to the total valid votes:

RSP: 4987707 (47.96 percent)

Congress: 1691076 (16.27 percent)

UML: 1407923 (13.54 percent)

CPN: 766392 (7.37 percent)

Shram Sanskriti: 355737 (3.42 percent)

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP): 324051 (3.12 percent)

Below the Threshold

JSP: 170890 (1.64 percent)

Janmat: 76151 (0.73 percent)

If this vote result is considered final, it appears that six parties have received 3 percent or more of the votes. The party in seventh place, JSP, and those receiving fewer votes have percentages below that.

The House of Representatives Election Act sets a threshold of not allocating proportional seats to parties that receive less than 3 percent of the total valid votes. Accordingly, the valid votes received by those parties are not included in the seat allocation process.

Now, let's sum the total votes received by the six parties that crossed the three percent threshold. This amounts to 9,503,286. Dividing this vote total by the total number of proportional seats, 110, results in 86,662 votes. This resulting figure is called the divisor.

Next, the seats allocated to each party are determined using the 'Result Divisor Formula' as stipulated by the House of Representatives Election Act. In the first phase, the number of seats for the respective party is determined by dividing the votes received by the divisor.

For example, dividing the 4,987,707 votes received by RSP by the divisor of 86,662 yields 57.56. Accordingly, RSP receives 57 seats in the first phase, with 47,973 votes remaining.

Similarly, Congress, with 1,691,076 votes, receives 19 seats according to the mentioned divisor, leaving a remainder of 44,498 votes.

UML, with 1,407,923 votes, receives 16 seats according to the same divisor, leaving a remainder of 21,331 votes.

CPN, with 766,392 votes, receives 8 seats when divided by the divisor, leaving a remainder of 73,096 votes.

Shram Sanskriti Party, with 355,737 votes, receives 4 seats when divided by the divisor, leaving a remainder of 9,089 votes.

RPP, with 324,051 votes, receives 3 seats when divided by the divisor, leaving a remainder of 64,065 votes.

Now, let's sum the seats obtained by the parties in the first phase. This totals 107 seats. Among the 110 seats, the remaining 3 seats are allocated one by one, starting with the party that has the largest remaining vote count.

The status of the remaining votes is as follows:

CPN: 73,096

RPP: 64,065

RSP: 47,973

Congress: 44,498

UML: 21,331

Shram Sanskriti: 9,089

Among the remaining 3 seats, CPN, RPP, and RSP are set to receive 1 seat each. Accordingly, in the proportional category, RSP is expected to get 58 seats, Congress 19 seats, UML 16 seats, CPN 9 seats, and Shram Sanskriti and RPP 4 seats each.

This result is based on the votes counted so far. The final vote count may cause some changes. Specifically, since the difference in remaining votes between RSP and Congress is around 3,000 votes, there is a possibility that Congress might gain one seat and RSP might lose one seat.

Based on the current votes, RSP is projected to secure 125+58=183 seats in the upcoming parliament, Congress 17+19=36 seats, UML 9+16=25 seats, CPN 8+9=17 seats, Shram Sanskriti 3+4=7 seats, and RPP 1+4=5 seats. Mahabir Pun has been elected as the sole independent candidate.

Two-thirds majority in the 275-member House of Representatives requires 184 seats. RSP would be one seat short of this. If the independent candidate Pun is included, RSP would achieve a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. It should be noted that RSP had unofficially supported Pun in the election.