The Nepalese Election Commission confirmed on Monday that the seat was won by the candidate of the winning centrist National Independent Party (RSP) Šréšthaová.
“I am excited, but at the same time I am aware of the responsibility that lies on my shoulders,” LGBT+ rights defender Šréšthaová said according to AFP. “The Constitution contains provisions for our community, but these have not yet been translated into laws and policies. Our community is counting on me to present their demands to Parliament,” she added.
The RSP party won the parliamentary elections on March 5 and won 182 seats in the 275-member chamber. Its leading candidate, former mayor of Kathmandu and former rapper Balendra Šáh, will become prime minister.
According to AFP, Umiša Pandejová, the president of the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), which deals with the promotion of the rights of the LGBT+ community in Nepal, called Šréštha’s election a historic moment.
Nepal is one of the most progressive countries in South Asia in the field of the rights of the LGBT+ community. In 2007, the country banned discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.
In 2013, a third gender category was introduced in citizenship documents, and in 2015 it was also introduced in travel passports. In 2023, an interim Supreme Court order allowed same-sex couples and transgender people to enter into registered partnerships in Nepal. According to BDS, almost a million people in Nepal identify themselves as members of a sexual minority.
