KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 27
The Election Commission has spent Rs 80 million on preparation for mid-term elections which won't be held as the Supreme Court has invalidated the government's decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.
Spokesperson for the EC Raj Kumar Shrestha said a large percentage of the 80 million rupees was used to repair vehicles in all district election offices, prepare directives and update voter list. Shrestha said the EC could not have halted these expenditures as it had to prepare for the mid-term polls.
"People were criticising us saying we were not making adequate preparations for the mid-term polls, so we did not have any option but to prepare for the polls," Shrestha said and added that the EC, which could procure expensive elections materials one month ago, had not done so.
Had the EC procured expensive materials, a lot of government money might have gone to waste, he argued.
He said the EC would have to use fast-track process for many things had the Supreme Court ruled in favour of mid-term polls.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 28, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
