Silence period had begun on May 17

KATHMANDU, MAY 19

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has issued a statement soliciting votes for Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa in the May 20 by-elections for National Assembly seat from Bagmati Province.

Just a day ahead of the election, Oli has urged his party members to stand behind Thapa reasoning that he is a senior figure of communist movement. PM Oli further said his victory would further foster the sentimental unification of the communists.

He has even gone on to warn that those who go against the party's decision by not voting for Thapa would have to face action.

This last-hour notice by Oli has shown his complete and utter disregard for election code of conduct as the silence period for the Bagmati Province by-elections had started since May 17. No activity related to election campaign, especially soliciting votes for a candidate, can be carried out during the silence period.

The ruling CPN-UML had already issued a whip on Tuesday calling its lawmakers to cast votes in favor of party candidate Thapa

Three candidates are contesting the by-elections in Bagmati Province which has an electoral college of 348.

Earlier on May 7, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had registered his candidacy for the National Assembly seat on behalf of ruling CPN-UML, while Khimlal Devkota had, then, filed his candidacy as a common candidate from the Nepali Congress, CPN-Maoist Centre, Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal, and the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led faction of the CPN-UML. Krishna Bahadur Tamang is the third candidate from Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) contesting the elections.