As the Election Commission (EC) has started nomination process for the representatives of local governments across the country from Sunday, women leaders have said that there are fears that presence of women at the local governments may diminish as parties are forging alliance for upcoming local elections. Article 17 of the Local Level Election Act stipulates that a political party must ensure that one of the local level head or deputy head must be a woman while registering their candidature. "However, the provision will not apply if the party fields only one candidate," adds the act. Because of the provision, women's representation as local level chiefs and deputy chiefs will decrease when alliances are formed in most parts of the country, leaders and analysts of political parties said.