Nepal's Election Commission said yesterday that 114 political parties, several new, have been approved to contest the first polls since a mass uprising ousted the government.

Commission spokesman Narayan Prasad Bhattarai told AFP the election in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people was on track for March 5, 2026.

"About 19 million eligible voters have registered their names," Bhattarai said. "We assure everyone that the election will take place in the given time," he added, saying officials were determined to ensure a "free, impartial and peaceful environment".

Around a fifth of the 114 parties are new, and include several registered by young activists who helped launch the anti-corruption protests that shook the country on September 8-9.

Those protests were triggered by a brief ban on social media, but fuelled by wider anger at economic hardship and corruption.

The World Bank estimates a "staggering" 82 percent of Nepal's workforce is in informal employment.