Election Commission Urges Political Parties and Candidates to Use Designated Bank Accounts for Campaign Finance Ahead of February 21 Polls

Kathmandu. The Election Commission has called upon political parties and candidates participating in the House of Representatives election scheduled for February 21 to open and conduct transactions through bank accounts in accordance with the Election Campaign Bank Account Operation and Management Procedure, 2082.

In a statement issued today, EC Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai stated that the procedure was approved and issued by the Commission's meeting on Tuesday, and parties are urged to open bank accounts accordingly to manage election campaign income and expenditures through these channels.

The procedure has been uploaded to the Commission's website. The statement also mentioned that directives have been issued to 'A', 'B', and 'C' class licensed banks and financial institutions for this purpose.

The Election Commission has drawn attention to the need for political parties and candidates to operate election campaign bank accounts as per Section 50 of the Election Commission Act, 2073, to bring campaign expenditures during the general election into the banking system.

The Commission has mandated that income received as financial support and expenditures made for election campaigning by political parties and candidates must be transacted through bank accounts.

The Commission also informed that recommendations for opening such accounts will be issued by the Election Commission Secretariat for political parties, and by the respective District Election Office for candidates.

Accordingly, directives have also been issued to subordinate election offices and banks/financial institutions to carry out the necessary tasks. The statement mentioned that since the initiation of transparent practices to link election campaign expenditures with the modern banking system, the Commission expects active cooperation, coordination, and facilitation from all stakeholders.