Election Commission Identifies Over 600 Harmful Information Posts Ahead of Polls

The Information Integrity Promotion Unit operating under the Election Information Dissemination and Coordination Center established at the Election Commission has so far identified a total of 612 harmful pieces of information.

The Commission stated that out of these, 545 items attracting the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063, were forwarded to the Nepal Police, and 121 items attracting the Election Code of Conduct, 2082, were sent to the Central Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee concerning the House of Representatives election scheduled for this Falgun 21. Furthermore, 74 items attracting the Press Council Act, 2048, were sent to the Press Council, and one item attracting the Advertisement (Regulation) Act, 2076, was sent to the Advertising Board for action, informed Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson for the Commission.

Of those forwarded, Nepal Police has taken action on 132 items (39 percent), the Central Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee on 90 items (74 percent), and the Press Council Nepal on 32 items (43 percent) so far.

A study conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) found that 54 percent of the harmful information disseminated regarding Nepal's elections involved the use of 'deep fake' images and videos generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Information regarding the review of the current security situation and ensuring effective compliance with the code of conduct during the campaign period, including rallies and processions organized by political parties and candidates in the coming days, as well as security on the voting day, was provided at a press conference held today following a high-level Election Security Committee meeting.

The review conducted in the meeting found the security situation thus far to be satisfactory, and based on the meeting's decisions, the Commission has recommended to the Government of Nepal to enhance security arrangements before and on the voting day. The Commission also decided that the Ministry of Home Affairs will direct all District Chief Officers and security agencies to fully enforce the election code of conduct that must be adhered to during the election campaigning prohibition period, which will come into effect from 12:00 AM on Falgun 18.

The Commission has instructed the District Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee to mobilize necessary personnel and mechanisms to prevent prohibited acts under Section 24 of the Election (Offenses and Punishment) Act, 2073, and Sections 17 and 18 of the Election Code of Conduct, 2079, and if any such acts are found to be occurring anywhere, to take immediate action according to prevailing laws and inform the Commission.

The Commission has directed a ban on the sale, distribution, and consumption of alcoholic beverages starting 7 days before the polling date until the final election results are announced. On the voting day, except for vehicles providing essential services (ambulances, fire trucks, hearses, blood transfusion service vehicles, security agency vehicles, vehicles used for electricity, drinking water, and sewage maintenance, and telecommunication service maintenance), diplomatic vehicles, and vehicles with passes obtained for use on election day, the operation of all other public and private vehicles will be prohibited from 12:00 AM on Falgun 20 until the voting concludes on the evening of Falgun 21.

Arrangements have been made for international and domestic air flights to operate as usual on the voting day. Passengers holding tickets for international and domestic flights will be permitted to use private vehicles or vehicles provided by the respective airlines to travel between the airport and their homes/hotels, and from their homes/hotels to the airport.