Study Reveals Continued Use of Children in Elections Despite Efforts to Prevent It

Despite efforts from various sectors to stop the use of children in elections, a recent study shows that this trend did not cease in the recently concluded elections. Information was provided that during monitoring of the recent House of Representatives elections, 286 incidents related to children were recorded before the election, and 19 incidents were registered in the post-election period.

This information was disclosed by the Children, Peace Zone National Campaign Nepal (Cizap) while publicly releasing the monitoring summary report concerning the state of child exploitation during the House of Representatives Election 2082.

Speaking on that occasion, representatives from stakeholder bodies demanded strict policy arrangements to prevent the misuse of children in elections. Cizap also stated that the study showed children were involved in various activities during the election time, announced during a program organized in Lalitpur.

According to the monitoring report, Cizap Chairman Tilottam Poudel informed that children were misused in activities such as carrying flags and symbols of political parties, participating in processions and mass meetings, chanting political slogans, distributing promotional materials, wearing uniforms bearing political party symbols, and participating in promotional song and dance programs.

Similarly, Durga Prasad Chalise, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, claimed that the situation of child misuse was reduced during this election while serving as a voting officer, stating that this was possible due to the collaboration and vigilance of stakeholder bodies.

Likewise, Sriram Adhikari, Program Coordinator at the National Child Rights Council, stated that stricter legal arrangements must be introduced to prevent the misuse of children. Khimnanda Basnyal of the National Human Rights Commission mentioned that although the misuse of children was somewhat reduced compared to past elections, much work remains for improvement.

Geeta Adhikari, Central Member of the Children, Peace Zone National Campaign, opined that lessons learned from the incidents of child misuse in this election should be used to correct policy and behavioral shortcomings for the upcoming elections.

Journalist Vijay Poudel noted that some candidates brought even newborn babies with them while voting during this election, mentioning that an opinion needs to be formed regarding this as well.

The Cizap report also mentioned that while direct code of conduct violations concerning children were low on voting day compared to the pre-election period, structural issues related to the extensive use of school buildings as polling stations were observed.

Out of 10,967 polling stations across the country, approximately 9,450 polling stations were established in schools, and 19 incidents were recorded during victory rallies and celebrations after the election results were announced.