KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 18
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has recommended in its annual report that public post holders facing corruption or criminal charges should be barred from contesting elections.
In its 33rd annual report that the CIAA submitted to the president a few days ago, the CIAA said that since people against whom corruption or criminal cases remain subjudice in the court remain suspended even after winning elections, it would be appropriate to bar such people from contesting elections. At present, anybody who faces corruption charge can contest elections unless the charges against them are proven. The anti-graft body also recommended that the laws related to political parties should be amended to allow the parties to suspend their leaders after corruption or criminal charges are filed against them.
Senior Advocates Radheshyam Adhikari and Ram Narayan Bidari, however, oppose the CIAA proposal, saying mere indictment cannot be enough ground for barring anybody from contesting election.
Criminal justice system does not allow the state entities to have prejudice against anybody accused of crime so barring people indicted in corruption or criminal cases cannot be justifiable, Adhikari said and added that the CIAA's proposal was a dangerous one. "I generally believe that the CIAA works without biases against anybody, but the CIAA is an office of the executive branch and since there is no real checks and balance in our country, no government agency should be given power to bar people indicted in corruption and criminal cases from contesting elections," he added.
Bidari said if anybody is indicted in a criminal case, it does not mean that he/ she is guilty.
"One may debate about more stringent punishment for the corrupt, but anybody who has been indicted in a corruption or criminal case should not be barred from contesting elections," Bidari said and added that if the state agencies were allowed to bar people indicted in corruption or criminal case, then the executive branch could use the anti-graft body to punish opponents.
If the CIAA's arguments prevail, the ruling party can use the CIAA to entrap all opponent leaders in corruption case," Bidari said and added that any ruling party leader who might deem an opposition leader a challenge in the election could use the CIAA to file corruption case against that leader so as to remove him from the election fray.
Bidari said that whether suspension after filing a corruption case was the right approachhould now be debated.
The anti-graft body also recommended that election related laws needed to be changed to fix election date so as to avoid expensive buying by the Election Commission on grounds that the election date is very near and it needs to buy election materials promptly.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
