Only 33 Candidates in Banke Open Separate Accounts for Election Expenses

Nepalgunj. Only 33 candidates in Banke have opened bank accounts for the purpose of election expenditure. The Election Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee stated that out of 56 candidates contesting the House of Representatives election 2082 in Banke, 15 have not yet opened bank accounts for election expenses.

Sarvoday Upadhyay, an officer of the Election Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee, informed that 33 candidates have opened bank accounts: 9 in Constituency No. 1, 14 in Constituency No. 2, and 10 in Constituency No. 3. According to him, eight candidates have taken recommendations to open accounts so far, while 15 have done nothing yet. 

Kosh Niyantrak and Election Code of Conduct Monitoring Officer Upadhyay, who is also the Chief of the Treasury and Controller Office, informed that although all candidates were required to open accounts by Falgun 4 for election expenditure purposes, 15 candidates have still not opened accounts, and they have been reminded multiple times via phone. Officer Upadhyay stated that most of those who have not opened accounts are independent candidates.

According to the election code of conduct, there is a legal provision that candidates must use a separate bank account for election purposes and not spend from personal accounts. Assistant Chief District Officer and Monitoring Officer of Banke, Purna Bahadur Khatri, informed that monitoring regarding the implementation of this provision is continuously underway.