Provincial governments of Nepal


The provinces of Nepal are governed by provincial governments which form the second level of governance in the country; after the federal government. The provincial governments are established, and their structure is defined by Part 13 of the Constitution of Nepal.

Legislature

Each province has a unicameral provincial legislature, varying in size according to the population of the province. The members are elected through first-past-the-post voting and party-list proportional representation for a term of five years, unless dissolved sooner. The first provincial election was held in 2017.
The provincial assemblies are presided over by the Speaker who is elected from amongst the members of the assembly and is not a part of the debates. The speaker is helped by a Deputy Speaker who is also elected from amongst the members. At least one of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker must be a woman and they must not belong to the same party unless only one party is represented in the assembly. Nanda Gurung is the first and only woman to be elected as the speaker of a provincial assembly. She is currently serving as the Speaker of Karnali Provincial Assembly having been elected in 2023.
The governors of the provinces have the power to summon and prorogue the sessions of the assembly pursuant to the Constitution. The interval between two consecutive sessions of the assemblies cannot exceed six months. If one-fourth of the total members of an assembly make a petition during a prorogation or recess of the assembly, the governor must call a session or a meeting.
AssemblyMeeting placeSeatsSpeakerDeputy SpeakerTerm
Koshi ProvinceBiratnagar, Morang93Ambar Bahadur BistaSirjana Danuwar2nd Assembly
Madhesh ProvinceJanakpur, Dhanusha107Ram Chandra MandalBabita Devi Raut Ishar2nd Assembly
Bagmati ProvinceHetauda, Makwanpur110Bhuwan Kumar PathakApsara Chapagai2nd Assembly
Gandaki ProvincePokhara, Kaski60Krishna Prasad DhitalBina Kumari Thapa2nd Assembly
Lumbini ProvinceBhalubang, Dang87Tularam Gharti MagarMenuka Khand K.C.2nd Assembly
Karnali ProvinceBirendranagar, Surkhet40Nanda GurungYashoda Neupane2nd Assembly
Sudurpashchim ProvinceGodawari, Kailali53Bhim Bahadur BhandariKoili Devi Chaudhary2nd Assembly

Executive

The executive power of a province is vested in the provincial cabinet. If a cabinet does not exist, the executive power is exercised by the governor of the province.
The head of the provincial cabinet is the chief minister. The governor appoints the leader of the parliamentary party that commands a majority, either alone or with the support of one or more parties, in the provincial assembly as the chief minister. The governor appoints members to the provincial cabinet on the recommendation of the chief minister. The members of the provincial cabinet are responsible for the various departments of the provincial administration. A provincial cabinet can only consist of a maximum of 20% of the total number of members of the provincial assembly. A non-member of a provincial assembly can be appointed as a minister in the cabinet, but must obtain membership of the assembly within six months of their appointment.
The assembly can force the resignation of the chief minister with a vote of no confidence.

Judiciary

The former appellate courts were changed into High Courts after the adoption of the new constitution.
S.N.High CourtJurisdictionPrimary seatChief Judge
1Morang District, Sunsari District, and Udaypur DistrictBiratnagarShri Ramesh Prasad Rajbhandari
2Dhanusha District, Mahottari District, and Sarlahi DistrictJanakpurBinod Sharma
3Kathmandu District, Lalitpur District, Bhaktapur District, Rasuwa District, Nuwakot District, Kavrepalanchowk District, Sindhupalchowk District, Dolakha District, Ramechhap District, Sindhuli District, and Dhading DistrictLalitpurNripa Dhoj Niraula
4Kaski District, Lamjung District, Tanahu District, Manang District, Gorkha District, Syangja District, and Nawalpur DistrictPokharaRamesh Pokharel
5Dang District, Pyuthan District, Rolpa District and Eastern Rukum DistrictTulsipurNita Gautam Dixit
6Surkhet District, Salyan District, West Rukum District, Dailekh District and Jajarkot DistrictBirendranagarSheshraj Shiwakoti
7Bajura District, Bajhang District, Achham District, Doti District, and Kailali DistrictDipayalTej Bahadur Karki

Additional Benches and Extended Benches of Nepal
S.N.High CourtAdditional and Extended BenchesJurisdictionPrimary seatSenior-most Judge
1Biratnagar High CourtIlam BenchJhapa District, Ilam District, Panchthar District, and Taplejung DistrictIllamPremraj Karki
2Biratnagar High CourtDhankuta BenchDhankuta District, Terathum District, Sankhuwasabha District, and Bhojpur DistrictDhankutaPusparaj Koirala
3Biratnagar High CourtOkhaldhunga BenchOkhaldhunga District, Khotang District, and Solukhumbhu DistrictOkhaldhungaThakur Prasad Sharma Poudel
4Janakpur High CourtRajbiraj BenchSaptari District and Siraha DistrictRajbirajDiliraj Acharya
5Janakpur High CourtBirgunj BenchParsa District, Bara District and Rautahat DistrictBirgunjSharanga Subedi
6Patan High CourtHetauda BenchChitwan District and Makwanpur DistrictHetaudaMohammad Shabir Hussain
7Pokhara High CourtBaglung BenchBaglung District, Parbat District, Myagdi District and Mustang DistrictBaglungDwarikaman Joshi
8Tulsipur High CourtButwal BenchRupandehi District, Nawalparasi District, Kapilvastu District, Gulmi District, Palpa District, and Arghakhanchi DistrictButwalShivaraj Adhikari
9Tulsipur High CourtNepalgunj BenchBanke District and Bardiya DistrictNepalgunjDr. Ratna Bahadur Bagchand
10Surkhet High CourtJumla BenchJumla District, Kalikot District, Humla District, Mugu District, and Dolpa DistrictJumlaGunaraj Dhungel
11Dipayal High CourtMahendranagar BenchKanchanpur District, Darchula District, Baitadi District and Dadeldhura DistrictBhimdattaPrabha Basnet