12 B. Election system (electoral system)

The election system is the set of rules that converts votes into seats — how the ballots are cast, counted and translated into representation. The same voters with the same votes produce one-party landslides under one formula and hung parliaments under another; electoral systems are to democracy what valves are to an engine. Nepal's election machinery: • The Election Commission (Art. 245): Chief Election Commissioner + 4 Commissioners, appointed by the President on the Constitutional Council's recommendation; conducts, supervises, directs and controls the elections of the President, Vice-President, Federal Parliament, provincial assemblies and local bodies; maintains the voters' list; holds referenda (Art. 246). Constitutional autonomy; government owes cooperation (Art. 247). • Election laws: House of Representatives Election Act 2074, National Assembly Election Act 2074 (as amended), Local Level Election Act 2073, Voter List Act 2063 (registration at 16, voting at 18), the Election Commission Act 2073, and the election code of conduct rules. • Nepal's electoral history in one line: the first general election of 2015 BS (1959) → the partyless referendums and Panchayat ballots → the democratic elections of 2048–2056 BS → the two Constituent Assembly elections (2064/2013) → federal elections (2017, 2022) and local elections under the 2072 Constitution.