In a report released recently, The Carter Center commends the Election Commission of Nepal’s latest mobile voter registration outreach drive, but lower registration rates of women and young citizens, data quality, and an uncertain national political context remain areas of concern that must be rectified to improve the voter roll before the next election is held.

The Carter Center’s report outlines its observations of the election commission’s mobile outreach program designed to target citizens from marginalized communities – including women, Dalits and Adivasi Janajati groups, as well as those from geographically remote regions – to register to vote. 

“The Carter Center applauds the collaborative efforts of both the Election Commission of Nepal and Ministry of Home Affairs to expand voter registration and citizenship certificate drives,” said David Hamilton, field office director for The Carter Center in Nepal. “However, a large number of eligible citizens – potentially several million – remain unaccounted for on the voter register. These people should not be left behind as the country’s democratic transition continues.”