Editing Nepal (section)

===Politics===
{{Main|Politics of Nepal}}
{{Multiple image
| caption_align     = center
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Ram Chandra Poudel during oath taking ceremony of President of Nepal.jpeg
| caption1          = [[Ram Chandra Poudel]]<br/>[[President of Nepal|President]]
| image2            = The Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli calls on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on April 06, 2018 (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = [[KP Sharma Oli]]<br/>[[Prime Minister of Nepal|Prime Minister]]
}}

Nepal is a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system.<ref name="Al Jazeera elections explained">{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/11/nepal-elections-2017-explained-171126103009857.html |title=Nepal elections explained |publisher=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]] |access-date=17 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814220351/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/11/nepal-elections-2017-explained-171126103009857.html |archive-date=14 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal has been referred as the 'Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal' since 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal 2015 Constitution - Constitute |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Nepal_2015 |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=www.constituteproject.org |language=en}}</ref> It has seven national political parties recognised in the federal parliament: [[Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)]], [[Nepali Congress]], [[Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)]], [[Rastriya Swatantra Party]], [[Rastriya Prajatantra Party]], [[People's Socialist Party (Nepal, 2024)|People's Socialist Party]] and [[Janamat Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=प्रतिनिधिसभामा १२ दल, राष्ट्रिय पार्टी ७ मात्रै |url=https://ekantipur.com/news/2022/12/06/167034242099737230.html |access-date=17 February 2023 |website=ekantipur.com |language=ne |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813190236/https://ekantipur.com/news/2022/12/06/167034242099737230.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera elections explained"/> Of the two major parties which both officially espouse [[democratic socialism]], CPN(UML) is considered leftist while Nepali Congress is considered centrist.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2017/10/nepal-headed-communist-state-171014095129113.html |title=Is Nepal headed towards a communist state? |publisher=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]] |access-date=17 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726113406/https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2017/10/nepal-headed-communist-state-171014095129113.html |archive-date=26 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> During most of the brief periods of democratic exercise in the 1950s and the 1990s, Nepali Congress held majority of seats in parliament; [[Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)|CPN (UML)]] was its competitor in the 1990s.<ref name="Khadka 1993">{{cite journal |last=Khadka |first=Narayan |year=1993 |title=Democracy and Development in Nepal: Prospects and Challenges |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=44–71 |doi=10.2307/2760015 |issn=0030-851X |jstor=2760015}}</ref> After the [[Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)|Maoists]] entered the political process in 2006, they emerged as the third largest party.<ref name="mao"/> In the aftermath of the [[2017 Nepalese legislative election|2017 elections]], the first one according to the new constitution, NCP, formed by the merger of CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) had become the ruling party at the federal level and in six out of seven provinces.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/ncp-to-announce-party-department-chiefs-today/|title=NCP to announce party department chiefs today |date=21 July 2019 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818100446/https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/ncp-to-announce-party-department-chiefs-today/ |archive-date=18 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the [[2022 Nepalese general election|2022 general election]], the House of Representatives of [[2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal|2nd Federal parliament]] was formed as hung parliament and a coalition government led by [[Pushpa Kamal Dahal]] was formed in December 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Maoist rebel leader Prachanda becomes Nepal PM for third time |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/25/ex-maoist-rebel-leader-prachanda-becomes-nepal-pm-for-third-time |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |access-date=7 April 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407180542/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/25/ex-maoist-rebel-leader-prachanda-becomes-nepal-pm-for-third-time |url-status=live }}</ref> On 15 July 2024, K. P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepali Prime minister for fourth time. New coalition was formed between Nepali Congress, led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, and UML, led by Oli. The party leaders will take turns as prime ministers for 18 months each until the next general elections in 2027.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oli becomes prime minister for fourth time, swearing-in today |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2024/07/14/president-appoints-kp-sharma-oli-prime-minister |work=kathmandupost.com |language=English}}</ref>

[[File:BP Koirala.jpg|thumb|upright|[[B.P. Koirala]] led the 1951 revolution, became the first democratically elected Prime Minister, and after being deposed and imprisoned in 1961, spent the rest of his life fighting for democracy.|alt=Portrait of B. P. Koirala]]
In the 1930s, a vibrant underground political movement arose in the capital, birthing [[Nepal Praja Parishad]] in 1936,{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}} which was dissolved seven years later, following the execution of the [[Martyrs of Nepal|four great martyrs]]. Around the same time, Nepalis involved in the [[Indian independence movement]] started organizing into political parties, leading to the birth of [[Nepali Congress]] and [[Communist Party of Nepal]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=T. Louise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uy2IAgAAQBAJ |title=The Challenge to Democracy in Nepal |date=1 November 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-88532-9 |language=en |access-date=7 October 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127200145/https://books.google.com/books?id=uy2IAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> As communism was trying to find its footing, Nepali Congress was successful in [[1951 Nepalese revolution|overthrowing the Rana regime]] in 1951 and enjoyed the overwhelming support of the electorate.<ref name="ram00">{{cite journal |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Shastri |last2=Ramachandaran |first2=Shastri |year=2003 |title=Nepal as Seen from India |journal=[[India International Centre Quarterly]] |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=81–98 |issn=0376-9771 |jstor=23006108}}</ref> In the partyless [[Panchayat (Nepal)|Panchayat system]] initiated in 1962 by [[Mahendra of Nepal|King Mahendra]], monarchy loyalists took turns leading the government; political leaders remained underground, exiled or in prison.{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}} A communist insurgency was crushed in its cradle in the 1970s, which led to the eventual coalescence of hitherto scattered communist factions under the [[United Left Front (Nepal, 1990)|United Left Front]].

After the [[1990 Nepalese revolution|joint civil resistance]] launched by the United Left Front and Nepali Congress overthrew the Panchayat in 1990,<ref name=ram00/><ref>Rawal, Bhim Bahadur. ''Nepalma samyabadi andolan: udbhab ra vikas''. Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan. p. 83–84.</ref> the Front became [[CPN UML|CPN (UML)]], adopted multi-party democracy, and in the brief period, it was in government, introduced welfare programmes that remain popular.<ref name="Khadka 1993"/> After the Maoist Party joined mainstream politics, in the aftermath of the [[2006 Nepalese revolution|peaceful revolution of 2006]], it also adopted multi-party democracy as its official line. The transition period between 2006 and 2015 saw sustained protests from the newly formed ethnocentric nationalist movements, principal among them the [[Madhes Movement]].