KATHMANDU, JANUARY 27 The Election Commission (EC) has sought clarifications from several election candidates and political parties for alleged violations of the Election Code of Conduct. Those asked to provide explanations include Januka Pathak (also known as Shova Pathak) of the Jana Sewa Party, fellow party candidate Kamal Bhusal (Dr Nicholas), and the Shram Sanskriti Party. Pathak is accused of violating the election code by spreading hate speech, while the Shram Sanskriti Party allegedly used children in campaign activities, including dressing them in party-logo T-shirts and waving party flags. Similarly, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) candidate Balendra Shah has been asked to clarify his social media response to a post by the CPN-UML chairperson, which was deemed to have implications for public debate. In addition, several institutions and schools have also been asked to explain their alleged breaches of the Election Code of Conduct. The Commission cited multiple provisions of the Code while seeking these clarifications.