Political Parties and Candidates Begin Submitting Separate Bank Account Details for Election Spending Transparency

In accordance with the regulations aimed at ensuring transparency in election expenditures, political parties and candidates have started submitting details of separate bank accounts opened specifically for the election to the Election Commission (EC). The EC stated that participating parties and candidates for the elections scheduled for this coming Falgun 21 are beginning to provide information on these dedicated bank accounts.

EC Joint Secretary Yagya Prasad Bhattarai reported that so far, 454 candidates and four parties have provided information regarding these separate bank accounts. A total of 3,406 candidates, including those from political parties and independents, are contesting in the election.

The 'House of Representatives Election Publicity Bank Account (Operation and Management) Working Procedure, 2082,' approved and issued by the EC on Magh 20, establishes provisions to make the financial contributions received by participating parties and candidates, as well as their campaign expenditures, economical and transparent. So far, three parties have submitted their election manifestos to the EC. The EC has directed that election manifestos must be submitted to the commission by Falgun 3.

The Election Offenses and Penalties Act, 2073, Section 21, stipulates that during the election period, a candidate, election representative, or any other person must not influence any voter, either to cast their vote or refrain from voting, through cash, goods, gifts, donations, or grants.

Furthermore, Section 27 of the same Act prohibits parties, candidates, or election representatives from receiving any form of financial assistance from government or public bodies, or non-governmental organizations, in a manner that violates prevailing laws during election campaigning.

Joint Secretary Bhattarai informed that after opening separate accounts for the election, the funds in the previous accounts of the parties and candidates must be transferred to these new accounts. He added that the EC will instruct the closure of these accounts within 35 days of the submission of the election expenditure details.

This working procedure was introduced to effectively implement Section 16 of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082, thereby organizing and maintaining decorum in the election process. The EC also determines the expenditure ceiling (limit) for candidates.

For this election, the expenditure limit has been set regionally based on geography, ranging from NPR 2.5 million to NPR 3.3 million. The related notice was published in the Nepal Gazette (Part 5, Issue 41) on Ashoj 31, 2079.

The working procedure mandates that transactions must be conducted in Nepali currency. Once the account details are presented to the EC office and the Office of the Controller of Accounts and Audits, the documents and financial records of those accounts will remain inviolable and confidential according to prevailing laws.

The EC's mechanism will regularly monitor the income and expenditure of these accounts. The EC has designated the Chief of the District Office of the Controller of Accounts and Audits as the monitoring officer for election expenditure oversight.