Candidates Submit Election Expenditure Details to Nepal's Election Commission

Candidates for the House of Representatives have started submitting their election expenditure details to the Election Commission. The Commission has established a code of conduct for candidates to submit these details for the sake of transparency.

The Election Commission has already directed political parties and candidates participating in the House of Representatives election to publicize their income and expenditure from election campaigning within 35 days. According to Sub-section (4) of Section 72 of the House of Representatives Election Act, 2074, candidates under the first-past-the-post system must submit their expenditure details to the respective District Election Office, and political parties under the proportional representation system must submit them in the format specified by the Commission.

Similarly, according to Sub-section (2) of Section 31 of the Election (Offenses and Penalties) Act, 2073, the expenditure details must be made public for the information of the general public.

Political parties and candidates must publicize their expenditure details through one of the following means and submit proof, such as a photo or screenshot, to the Commission or the relevant Election Office.

Political parties and candidates who fail to submit, publicize, or provide proof of publicizing their expenditure details within the stipulated time will face action as per the Election (Offenses and Penalties) Act, which is why they are actively submitting such details and publicizing them through their social media.

Those who have submitted their expenditure details so far include Rastriya Swatantra Party's (RSP) senior leader and Prime Ministerial candidate Balen Shah, up to UML leader Surya Thapa who contested from Pyuthan.

According to the election expenditure details submitted by RSP senior leader Shah (Balen), a candidate from Jhapa-5, to the Election Office, he spent 1.417 million rupees. The details mention that two vehicles were rented for 15 days, costing 293,800 rupees, including fuel.

The details also mention 35,000 rupees spent on five airfares and 28,970 rupees for voter training program refreshments.

Likewise, the expenditure details show 580,000 rupees for ward-level campaign programs, 49,850 rupees for sample ballot printing, 120,000 rupees for two months of water expenses at the Election Office, and 22,820 rupees for stationery.

Furthermore, the details include 157,041 rupees spent on printing campaign materials such as flags and badges, 119,808 rupees on banners and stickers, and 10,000 rupees for nomination registration.

The details submitted under the signature of Balen's election representative, Navin Bhandari, state a total expenditure of 1,417,289 rupees.

Meanwhile, Swarnim Wagle, the elected Member of Parliament from Tanahun District Constituency No. 1, has also submitted his election expenditure details. According to the details submitted to the Election Commission, he spent 2,690,754 rupees for the election.

The largest expenditure, 650,298 rupees, was for the purchase and printing of his campaign materials. Additionally, 348,464 rupees were spent on electronic campaigning, and 348,900 rupees on food, refreshments, and temporary accommodation.

Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane submitted details of his election expenditure to the Election Commission, amounting to only 989,000 rupees. He contested from Chitwan-2 in the House of Representatives election and submitted his expenditure details.

The submitted details mention a total expenditure of 989,987 rupees. This includes 10,000 rupees for nomination registration, 68,161 rupees for sample ballot material printing, and 295,000 rupees for transportation and fuel during the campaign.

Furthermore, the details mention 14,200 rupees spent on refreshments during the voter training program, 112,000 rupees for purchasing campaign materials (flags, badges, stickers), and 55,000 rupees for banner production. Expenditures also included 196,000 rupees for food, ration, and water purchases, and 13,626 rupees for air travel.

The Election Commission has made it mandatory for candidates to submit expenditure details to ensure transparency in their election spending.

Similarly, RSP candidate Sobita Gautam from Chitwan Constituency No. 3 in the House of Representatives election also submitted her election expenditure details. According to the public details, Gautam spent 993,045 rupees.

This includes 5,000 rupees for nomination registration, 317,400 rupees for campaign materials, 30,000 rupees for voter training, 74,200 rupees for sample ballot/manifesto printing, and 100,000 rupees for ward-level campaigning (15 days).

Expenditures also included 325,000 rupees for two vehicles (including driver and fuel), 23,445 rupees for stationery, and 118,000 rupees for food, ration, and water.

Independent MP Mahabir Pun has also submitted his election expenditure details to the Election Commission. Pun, elected from Myagdi Constituency No. 1 in the House of Representatives election, stated that he spent a total of 2,868,868 rupees during the election period.

According to the submitted details, the largest expenditure, 1,307,619 rupees, was for food and accommodation in hotels. This was followed by approximately 140,000 rupees for driver wages, 660,998 rupees for transportation, and 360,499 rupees for diesel.

CPN (UML) leader Surya Thapa submitted details showing he spent 2,410,389 rupees for the election. Thapa, who contested from Pyuthan District House of Representatives Constituency No. 1, spent the most, 640,000 rupees, on programs at 64 wards and local levels.

UML General Secretary and candidate from Dang Constituency No. 2, Shankar Pokharel, has submitted his election expenditure details to the Election Office. According to the expenditure details he presented, 50,000 rupees were spent on purchasing voter lists.

The details mention 350,000 rupees for vehicles, 300,000 rupees for vehicle fuel (including feed for horses used), 150,000 rupees for campaign materials, 150,000 rupees for transportation, 150,000 rupees for seminars/interactions, 200,000 rupees for other campaigning, printing, and electronic media, 150,000 rupees for office operation, 100,000 rupees for representative mobilization, and 150,000 rupees for miscellaneous expenses.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader Kamal Thapa has also submitted his expenditure details to the Election Office, reporting an expenditure of 2,310,000 rupees.

According to the details he submitted, 475,000 rupees were spent on Election Office management, 450,000 rupees on digital content production and advertising, 350,000 rupees on meal arrangements for door-to-door campaigns, and 315,000 rupees on printing and distribution of campaign materials.

The details also mention 310,000 rupees for booths, 235,000 rupees for vehicle rental and fuel for campaigning, and 150,000 rupees for worker mobilization.

Thapa failed to secure his deposit in this election. Contesting from Kathmandu-5 after leaving his home district Makwanpur, Thapa received only 1,922 votes. This shows that Thapa spent over one thousand rupees for every single vote he received.

Other candidates are also in the process of submitting their expenditure details to the Election Office. In Kathmandu-5, RSP's Samasmit Pokharel was elected with 30,737 votes, while Thapa finished fourth.