The 2023 Chitwan–2 by-election was held in the Chitwan 2 constituency of Nepal on 23 April 2023. The

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held as the result of the vacation of the seat by the sitting member,

Rabi Lamichhane Rabi Lamichhane (; is a Nepalese politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal. He has also been serving as the president of the Rastriya Swatantra Party since 2022. An ex-journalist, Lamichhane became a member of ...

, president of the

Rastriya Swatantra Party The Rastriya Swatantra Party (, RSP; , NIP) is a Centrism, centrist political party in Nepal. The party was running as a coalition partner in Dahal cabinet, 2022, Prachanda-led government with four cabinet ministries from 6 March 2024 to 12 July ...

. It was held alongside by-elections in Tanahun 1 and Bara 2. RSP's Lamichhane was re-elected in the by-election, securing an even greater margin of votes than in the 2022 general election.

Background

First elected in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Lamichhane served as the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 26 December 2022 to 27 January 2023, when he was stripped of all his elected positions after the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled that Lamichhane did not follow due process to re-obtain his Nepali citizenship after renouncing his American citizenship, and thus, he was not a legal Nepali citizen. He reacquired the Nepali citizenship two days later, and contested the by-election.

2022 election result

Result

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023 Chitwan-2 by-election Chitwan District By-elections in Nepal