Election Spending Lacks Transparency, Joint Preliminary Report Finds

Kathmandu. A joint preliminary observation report has indicated a lack of transparency in the expenditure of candidates during the House of Representatives elections. The joint preliminary election observation report by the National Election Observation Committee (NEOC) and Election Observation Committee Nepal (EOC Nepal) noted a significant gap between the legal spending limits and the actual expenditure during the election campaign.

The report stated that expenditures by candidates were found to be up to millions of rupees more than the spending limit set by the Election Commission. At a press conference held here today, NEOC Chairman Dr. Gopal Krishna Shiwakoti informed that a detailed investigation report regarding campaign spending and promotional methods will be published separately.

The maximum spending limit set for candidates under the First-Past-the-Post electoral system was Rs 33 lakh depending on the geography, while the spending limit for candidates under the Proportional Representation system was set at around Rs two lakh. However, Dr. Shiwakoti stated that actual spending in high-profile constituencies exceeded the limit set by the Commission. The report claims that in other areas, spending was found to be up to 10 times higher than the stipulated limit.

Furthermore, the report highlighted the increasing reliance on digital promotion as a challenge to expenditure transparency. It mentioned that the demand for social media managers, content creators, and digital promotion services increased significantly after candidate registration, with fees for such services reaching up to hundreds of thousands of rupees. However, the report pointed out that these expenses are often not included in formal expenditure statements, leading to an increase in 'invisible spending.'

The Election Commission had collaborated with social media platforms like Meta and TikTok to monitor digital promotion. The report also mentioned the use of special software for monitoring social media and 'digital' content with the technical support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The Asia Foundation. However, EOC Nepal Chairman Advocate Shree Krishna Subedi stated that the report shows that advertising expenditure through social media remains opaque.

“This financial gap is not just a problem of transparency; it is a structural barrier that systematically excludes women, Dalit candidates, and those with access to donor networks from meaningful competition,” he said.

The report also noted that while stakeholder confidence in the Election Commission remained high during the observation, deficiencies in voter education and unequal access to information in remote areas were widely observed.