unicameral Constituent Assembly (601 seats; 240 seats decided by direct popular vote; 335 seats by proportional representation; 26 appointed by the Cabinet (Council of Ministers))
elections: last held 10 April 2008 (next to be held NA)
election results: percent of vote by party - CPN-M 38%, NC 19%, CPN-UML 19%,Madhesi People's Right Forum 9%, Terai-Madhes Democratic Party and Sadbhavana Party 5%, other 10%; seats by party - CPN-M 220, NC 110, CPN-UML 103, Madhesi People's Rights Forum 52, Terai-Madhes Democratic Party 20, Sadbhawana Party 9, other smaller parties 61; note - 26 seats filled by the new Cabinet
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (the president appoints the chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the chief justice appoints other judges on the recommendation of the Judicial Council)
Political parties and leaders:
Chure Bhawar Rastriya Ekata Party [Keshav Prasad MAINALI]; Communist
Party of Nepal (ML) [C.P. MAINALI]; Communist Party of Nepal
(Unified) [Raj Singh SHRIS]; Communist Party of Nepal (United)
[Ganesh SHAH]; Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or
CPN/UML [Jhalanath KHANAL]; Dalit Janajati Party [Vishwendraman
PASHWAN]; Madhesi People's Rights Forum [Upendra YADAV]; National
Democratic Party or NDP [Pashupati Shumsher RANA] (also called
Rastriya Prajatantra Party or RPP); Nepal Loktantrik Samajbadi Dal
[Upendra GACHCHHADAR]; Nepal Pariwar Dal [Vinod DANGI]; Nepal
Rastriya Party [Khushilal YADAV]; Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandi
Devi) [Shyam Sundar GUPTA]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP
[Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad
KOIRALA]; Nepali Janata Dal [Bharat Prasad MAHATO]; Rastriya
Janamorcha [Chitra BAHADUR K.C.]; Rastriya Janamukti Party [Malwar
Singh THAPA]; Rastriya Janashakti Party or RJP [Surya Bahadur
THAPA]; Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal [Kamal THAPA]; Sadbhavana
Party (Mahato) [Rajendra MAHATO]; Samajbadi Prajatantrik Janata
Party Nepal [Prem Bahadur SINGH]; Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch
[Kamal CHHARAHANG]; Terai-Madhes Democratic Party [Mahantha THAKUR];
United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL, also
known as PRACHANDA, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: several small armed Madhesi groups along the southern border with India; a variety of groups advocating regional autonomy for individual ethnic groups
International organization participation: