The election process of the Free Students’ Union under the Tribhuvan University formally commenced Tuesday with the start of nominations.

Student leaders affiliated with various political parties have registered their nominations for various office-bearer positions in respective colleges. A total of 25 student wings of major and fringe parties have been registered in hundreds of colleges across the country. The Rastriya Swatantra Party is not participating in the polls saying it won’t do politics in academic institutions.

The elections are slated for March 18.

In addition to 62 constituent colleges, the university administration aims to conduct elections in its 1,040 affiliated colleges—both community and private. However, other than the constituent and 300 community colleges, only some privately owned colleges have allowed the polls.

“We have asked all academic institutions under us to hold the polls. But most private affiliated colleges are reluctant to do so,” said Pashupati Adhikari, director of the Student Welfare and Sports Directorate. “The voting is likely to take place in around 400 colleges.”

Despite claims by their mother parties to contest the polls independently, student unions have forged electoral alliances in various colleges. For instance, the Nepali

Congress-affiliated Nepal Students’ Union (NSU) and the main opposition Maoist Centre’s All Nepal National Independent Student Union-Revolutionary have an alliance at Sanothimi Campus in Bhaktapur.

Similarly, the NSU has partnered with the All Nepal National Free Student Union, student wing of the CPN-UML, in some colleges outside the Valley.

“We are contesting elections in 400 colleges including some privately owned ones,” said Bijay Prakash Sapkota, chair of the ANNISU-R. “So far our friends have been elected unanimously in 18 colleges.”

Student unions affiliated to the UML and the Congress also claim to have unanimously won in around two dozen colleges. “Leaders in several colleges have been picked unanimously. However, we don’t have the exact report,” said Adhikari.

For instance, the student wings of the three major parties have agreed to share leadership in 15 colleges in Kavrepalanchok district. The NSU and ANNFSU have secured the chairperson’s positions in six colleges each, while the ANNISU-R holds the position in three.

Adhikari, the director, said nomination in several colleges has been halted due to disputes over voter lists. The process at Public Youth Campus, Nepal Law Campus, Nepal Bhasa Campus and Saraswati College has been delayed due to accusations among unions over the enrolling of fake students to manipulate votes.

The university administration has given the unions 15 days to resolve the matter and hold the polls. Nationwide college elections have not been not possible for a decade and half. The last such elections were held in 2009.

Since 2017, the university has adopted a mixed electoral system that divides seats equally between the proportional and first-past-the-post systems. Only students under 28 can take part in voting. The biennial elections were held in 2023. However, several colleges couldn’t elect the leadership following disputes among the unions.

The mixed electoral system will elect the president, secretary, treasurer and 50 percent members through direct electoral system, and the vice president, joint secretary, and the remaining 50 percent of the members through proportional representation electoral system.

As thousands of students take part in the voting, this election is also taken as a test of the popularity of the parties. Different parties have assigned their central committee leaders to make their unions victories.

The first FSU elections were held in 1962 at TU. Until 1974, the elections were conducted annually.

However, the Panchayat regime banned the elections until the 1980 referendum. Starting the same year, the polls resumed, to be held biennially. Barring some exceptions, the polls had been held annually until 2009.