KATHMANDU, JANUARY 28
While many have applauded the representatives, including independent mayors', decision to abstain from the National Assembly election, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya has expressed his displeasure with such actions by representatives.
In the Upper House election on January 25, 13 representatives, including Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah, Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Gopal Hamal, and Dharan Sub-Metropolitan Mayor Harka Raj Rai (Harka Sampang), did not exercise their constitutionally guaranteed voting rights.
Today, while submitting the National Assembly Election Report to President Ram Chandra Paudel, he stated that they expect people to vote for them during their election, but they themselves do not participate when it is their turn.
"Common citizens should vote for them; elect them as their representatives, and they do not vote for others when they are in positions," Thapaliya told THT.
"It is morally wrong for leaders to boycott the Election Commission-conducted election. They must respect the Election Commission because they are there due to elections."
In Contrast, Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City Mayor Gopal Hamal, speaking with THT, expressed that we have also been constitutionally guaranteed the right not to vote. "We have only acted within our rights," he said.
However, Thapaliya stated, "We have recommended in the new bill that the EC implement a None Of The Above (NOTA) system, but this has not yet been ensured. People in Australia face fines for not voting; they are fortunate to be in Nepal. Hence, they must adhere to democratic principles."
Meanwhile, according to Hamal, political parties are running their syndicate and putting losers in think tank positions, turning it into a dumping ground, and playing with the people's aspirations by making it a worse place.
"Therefore, to respect popular opinion and demonstrate my position on what I am actually for here, I abstained from voting in the Upper House election. I do not know about others," he told THT.
On the other hand, support for the independent mayor's move has also been demonstrated by the public. People took to social media to share their thoughts about the National Assembly election.
A popular content creator platform In-Depth Story has called the National Assembly a losers club and that is why leaders like Balen, Harka and Gopal did not cast their votes.
"The National Assembly acts as a parent to the House of Representatives, where individuals with knowledge, expertise, personality, and accomplishments in literature, science, economics, engineering, medicine, thinkers, and those familiar with federalism or possessing relevant expertise are supposed to be suitable. It should always be out of politics," reads its post.
"But as always, political parties left no stone unturned to bring back the defeated, tested, and most-undeserving leaders as election candidates. As a result, we could see independent leaders like Balen, Harka, and Gopal boycotting the election by not casting votes."
Similarly, CEC Thapaliya stated that the EC has proposed a bill against defeated leaders in House of Representative elections that would prohibit them from running for National Assembly for at least one term.
"On the other hand, it is imperative for leaders to utilize their conciseness in identifying qualified candidates," he added.
The EC has also condemned unethical behaviour by political parties during the silent period. "Political parties organized a tea party on January 24, and despite the silence period, they deliberately violated the election code of conduct, which is dangerous for democracy," he stated.
A tea party was hosted at Shekhar Koirala's Biratnagar home by the leader of the Nepali Congress during the election's quiet phase. Later, CPN-UML also organised a similar event.
Moreover, Thapaliya asserted that it is inadmissible to claim that the representative of the people crossed the floor to support the candidate of a different party.
"Every voter has the right to vote, regardless of which party they are elected from; they must be able to exercise that right under the constitution," he said.
To choose the members of the upper house, votes were cast by members of the Provincial Assembly, mayors and deputy mayors, and chairs and vice-chairs of local units in each of the seven provinces.
