Leaders ask EC to shed ‘harsh’ poll code terms

KATHMANDU, JUN 28 -
The four major political parties have asked the Election Commission ( EC ) to withdraw some ‘harsh’ provisions in the election code of conduct that the EC has proposed for the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) elections. The parties argue that the provisions may affect the elections scheduled for November 19.

In discussions with election commissioners on Thursday, top leaders of the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) stood against the provisions, while they said the November polls must be held on the basis of the code of conduct prepared for the 2008 CA elections.

UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, NC Vice President Ram Chandra Poudel, UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, who also heads the High Level Political Committee (HLPC), met the EC officials on poll preparations and the challenges involved.

The top leaders said the new provisions will ‘worsen’ the election environment by inviting fresh dispute among the parties. The proposed code of conduct provisions say a person’s candidacy can be cancelled if s/he is found violating the election standards. The provisions also say candidates must disclose their property details before filing candidacy, while they have made collecting donations through the banking system and submitting the details to the EC after the elections mandatory.

The code also bars wall-chalking, face painting, putting up banners and use of loudspeakers, helicopters and chartered planes during poll campaigns.

“They (top leaders) were not happy with the provision of a candidate having to declare the property details and they feared that the code could widen the differences among the parties.

“They, however, welcomed the increment in the election expenditure ceiling for individual candidates,” Chief Election Commissioner Neel Kantha Uprety said.

This time around, the EC has allowed each candidate contesting under the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) electoral system to spend Rs 1 million in the poll campaign, while the ceiling in the 2008 elections was a maximum of Rs 459,500 for FPTP candidates and Rs 50,000 in the proportional representation system.The UCPN (Maoist) and Madhes-based parties have been opposing the election code from the very beginning, particularly the ban on the use of helicopters and the provision to disclose the property details.

Responding to the concerns of the parties, the commissioners on Thursday told the leaders that the parties and the government are the final arbiters when it comes to endorsing the proposed code ‘formed to hold free and fair elections.’

So far, the EC has registered over 12 million of the estimated 15.4 million

voters, while it is in the process of verifying applications filed by 139

political parties for registration.

“Despite the provisions in the code of conduct , we found the election commission well prepared and committed to holding the November polls. We are fully satisfied with the preparations,” NC Vice-president Poudel said, emerging from the meeting.

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