KATHMANDU, MARCH 31
Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya has emphasised that all the political parties contesting the election should be committed to making the election free, fair, and economical by completely adhering to the election code of conduct so as to ensure the protection of democracy and integrity of the governance system.
At an interaction on 'Effective Implementation of Election Code of Conduct and Role of Stakeholders' today, Thapaliya suggested all the political parties and candidates to strictly abide by the election code of conduct, if not face dire consequences.
He shared, "The election code of conduct has been made at the participation of all the stakeholders.
The Election Commission is fully confident that the political parties and candidates will follow it.
Election must be won through ideology and principle, not through use of money."
Similarly, former chief justice Kalyan Shrestha stressed that the culture of following the code of conduct should be made an integral part as election paves the way for development, participation and good governance. "It is the main responsibility of the political parties and candidates to follow the election code of conduct."
Nepal Law Society chair and former chief secretary Tirtha Man Shakya expressed concern, saying the election costs were becoming expensive. "It seems the elections are only for the political parties and their leaders' interest and not for consolidation of democracy and the public interest," he said.
Election Commissioner Ishwori Prasad Poudel said the Election Commission was vigorously making preparations for conducting the election in a free, fair and fearless manner. He urged all the stakeholders to strictly abide by the election code of conduct for making the election free and fair. Election Commission secretary Gokarna Mani Dawadi, joint-secretary Yagya Prasad Bhattarai and former minister Madhav Poudel presented papers on the Election Code of Conduct, income and expenditure details of the political parties, and implementation and monitoring, respectively.
Nepal Law Society executive director Krishna Man Pradhan said the interaction had been organised to highlight the significance of the code of conduct and to make the stakeholders committed to follow it.
Leaders of various political parties, including Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Madhav Poudel, Khem Prasad Lohani, Baburam Dahal, Laxman Lal Karna, and Khim Lal Devkota, among others, suggested the Election Commission to work independently and be strict in enforcing the Election Code of Conduct so as to enhance the credibility of the elections.
Civil society representatives, including Kapil Shrestha, Khem Raj Regmi, Indira Shrestha, Meen Khadka, Asha Basnet, Pradip Shrestha and Indu Tuladhar, and chairman of the Rural Municipality Federation Bansha Lal Tamang pointed out the need to make electoral reforms and more the election more credible so as to strengthen democracy.
Earlier, the Election Commission and the NLS had organised programmes in 14 places covering all the seven provinces.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 1, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
