Nepal

Poll expenditure cap amp;#039;unrealistic amp;#039;

   Download Android App    Share in      FullScreen   CheckVideos

KATHMANDU, MARCH 15The Election Commission's decision to put a ceiling on poll expenditure for candidates vying for top posts in municipalities and rural municipalities has drawn flak from civil society members. Poll panel urges govt to announce civic election dates Embossed number plate mandatory for vehicles applying for renewal from January 15 Former president of Transparency International Nepal Khemraj Regmi said that the poll expenditure ceiling was unrealistic and candidates could easily flout election code of conduct and submit fake expenditure details. "The EC set the same expenditure ceiling that applied in the last local polls held five years ago.

In the last five years inflation has risen, but the EC has fixed the same poll expenditure cap," Regmi said.

He added that honest candidates vying for the post of mayor or deputy mayor would need between Rs 20 to 25 lakh for their poll campaign."The EC fixed this unrealistic ceiling without putting in place a robust mechanism to control poll expenditure.

This decision will encourage candidates to submit fake details of their spending," Regmi argued.

He said parties needed to give tickets to honest leaders with fairly long association with party politics.

"When parties sell tickets to business persons, contractors, or tax evaders, corruption seeps in the poll process.A corrupt candidate can spend any amount of money and try to recoup it after election," Regmi added.Former chief election commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety said if candidates did not use money and coercion to win election, the current ceiling might be enough, but everybody knew that candidates were spending huge sums to win elections."Mayoral candidates spend up to Rs 50 million on election campaign," Uprety said.

He added that the current system was faulty and state agencies could not control candidates who were using money to influence election outcome in their favour.He said if political parties were forced to receive donations only through the banking system that could check corruption in elections to some extent.Prof Kapil Shrestha said capping poll expenditure at Rs 7.5 lakh was tantamount to encouraging candidates to produce fake bills."The Election Commission should know how elections are contested these days," he added.Shrestha said although parties never say how much they spent during elections, it was a fact that post-1990, poll campaign had become an expensive affair.The EC has put a Rs 7.5-lakh ceiling on poll expenditure for a candidate vying for the post of mayor or deputy mayor of a metropolitan city.

It has also put a Rs 5.5-lakh expenditure ceiling for those vying for posts of mayor and deputy mayor of sub-metropolitan cities.A version of this article appears in the print on March 16, 2022, of The Himalayan Times. .

This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com 




Unlimited Portal Access + Monthly Magazine - 12 issues-Publication from Jan 2021

Buy Our Merchandise (Peace Series)

 

Contribute US to Start Broadcasting


It's Voluntary! Take care of your Family, Friends and People around You First and later think about us. Its Fine if you dont wish to contribute and if you wish to contribute then think about the Homeless first and Feed them. We can survive with your wishes too :-). You can Buy our Merchandise too which are of the finest quality.

Debit/Credit/UPI

UPI/Debit/Credit

Paytm

STRIPE

Details
Category: Nepal


13