Kathmandu, February 27
Of the 3,406 first-past-the-post candidates who filed nominations for the House of Representatives election scheduled for March 5 (Falgun 21), only 1,670 have opened bank accounts, according to the Election Commission.
Similarly, out of the 65 political parties participating in the election, only 11 have opened bank accounts. According to Sita Poudel Shrestha, Assistant Spokesperson of the Election Commission, the parties that have opened accounts so far are Nepali Congress, Rastriya Janamorcha, CPN United, Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), Nepali Party for Nepal, Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP), Unified Citizens Party, Miteri Party, Nepal Janata Protection Party, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, and Rastriya Janamukti Party.
The provision to open bank accounts has been introduced to ensure transparency in financial assistance received by political parties and candidates, to enforce the spending limits set by election law, and to facilitate effective monitoring.
According to the House of Representatives Election Campaign Bank Account (Operation and Management) Procedure, 2082, all political parties registered with the Commission for participating in the election under both the proportional representation and first-past-the-post systems, along with their candidates and independent candidates, are required to open bank accounts for election campaigning as per the procedure.
They have been instructed to conduct all income and expenditure transactions related to financial assistance through the designated bank accounts.
—RSS
