2026 Rastriya Sabha election

Rastriya Sabha elections were held in Nepal on 25 January 2026 in order to elect 18 of the 19 retiring Class I members of the Rastriya Sabha, the upper house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal.^[1] Members of the Rastriya Sabha are elected through indirect ballot and serve six year terms with one third of the members retiring after every two years.^[2]

Eight members of the Rastriya Sabha are elected from each of the seven provinces of Nepal and 3 members are appointed by the president for a total of 59 members. Composition of members from each province have to include three women, a Dalit, and a disabled person or member of a minority. The three remaining are categorized as open/other candidates. All members elected from this election must be from the same category as the retiring members.^[2]

Members were elected by Instant-runoff voting by an electoral college composed of members of the respective provincial assembly and chairperson/mayor and vice chairperson/deputy mayor of the local levels within the province.^[3] Each provincial assembly member vote has a weight of forty-eight whereas each chairperson/mayor/vice chairperson/deputy mayor vote have a weight of eighteen.^[3] This electoral college will elect 19 members while 1 member, whose term will also end concurrently, will be nominated by the president on the recommendation of the Government of Nepal.

According to Article 87 of the Constitution, a person who meets the following criteria is qualified to become a member of the Rastriya Sabha:^[4]

• citizen of Nepal,
• completed the age of thirty five years,
• not having been convicted of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude,
• not being disqualified by any Federal law, and
• not holding any office of profit.