Kathmandu. So far, 7 political parties and 867 candidates have opened their bank accounts for the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives.

This information was shared at a press conference organized by the Commission today. Assistant Spokesperson of the Election Commission, Sita Pun Shrees, said that arrangements have been made to open bank accounts for transparency in the financial assistance to be received by the political parties and candidates and for effective monitoring.

According to the House of Representatives Election Publicity Bank Account (Operation and Management) Procedure, 2082, all the political parties, candidates and independent candidates who have registered their candidacies for the proportional representation and first-past-the-post election system registered at the Election Commission for the purpose of participating in the election to the members of the House of Representatives 2082 will be transferred from the same account ।

In this context, the EC held discussion regarding the management of election publicity expenditure in the presence of representatives of the political parties. Representatives of 75 political parties were present in the program. The EC has been implementing such programmes in all seven provinces with the objective of increasing transparency in election expenditure.

Manifesto public and information

Clause 37 of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082 has the provision of making the election manifesto public and submitting it to the Election Commission and the concerned election office with the objective of making the political parties and candidates accountable to the citizens.

The Election Commission had also directed the political parties participating in the election to the members of the House of Representatives-2082 and the candidates of first-past-the-post election system to make public their manifestos by February 15 and submit them to the designated bodies. As per the EC’s directive, 41 political parties have already published their manifestos and informed the EC about the same.

Code of Conduct Monitoring and Action

The EC has continued the process of carrying out necessary investigations into the complaints received and taking action in order to minimize the incidents of violation by ensuring effective enforcement of election code of conduct. Central Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee, District Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee, District Code of Conduct Monitoring Officer and concerned election offices are active for the effective implementation of the code of conduct.

The Central Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee has sought clarification from the concerned political parties and candidates regarding 75 complaints received so far. Of these, 52 have received replies.

According to Clause 32 of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082, Assistant Chief District Officers of all 77 districts have been assigned as the Assistant Chief District Officer and the Chief ÷Fund Controller to monitor financial matters as per the Clause 32 of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082.

The Information Integrity Promotion Unit under the Election Information Communication and Coordination Centre established at the Election Commission has been active to monitor the people spreading false and misleading information and hate speech violating the election code of conduct and to bring to book the individuals and organizations involved in illegal activities in collaboration with the regulatory bodies.

290 content producer÷transmitters producing and disseminating harmful information have been sent to the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police for action as per the Electronic Transaction Act, 2063 and 11 to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority for action as per the Telecommunications Authority Act, 2052. Likewise, 65 have been sent to the Press Council Nepal for action as per the Press Council Act, 2048 BS while one has been sent for action as per the Advertisement (Regulation) Act, 2076.

4,300 observers to observe the election

The Election Observation Commission has been carrying out the election observation with importance to promote the cleanliness, transparency and democratic legitimacy of the elections. KATHMANDU: The EC has granted election observation permit to 41 organizations including 37 national and four international organisations under the election to the member of the House of Representatives-2082.

The commission has already completed the orientation of the representatives of the organizations after entering the names of observers on behalf of the licensed organizations. The Commission has already issued identity cards to around 4,300 observers of the licensed institutions.

A total of 3,064 queries including voice mail have been received till February 19 at the call centre brought into operation by the EC since January 18 to address the queries related to the elections of the voters and stakeholders. Among the queries received, 1,508 are related to voters’ list, 311 related to election code of conduct, 125 related to voter education and 800 related to others. According to the commission, a total of 320 voicemails were received out of the queries.

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